I love to give afternoon teas for my friends. I’ve had smaller and larger groups, but usually have four to six people, sometimes indoors and sometimes in the garden in the gazebo.
I make two or three different tea sandwiches; scones with clotted cream, lemon curd and strawberry or raspberry jam; shortbread and other sweets. Afterward, I bring out the strawberries and Champagne, sometimes Pimm’s Cup.
Though I love scones, most important to me are the sandwiches. The cute little desserts are just table decoration to me. Too many tearooms put all their effort into the desserts and serve up some pretty sad, dry sandwiches with dull fillings or awful bread (or both).
Egg sandwiches, called egg salad here and egg mayonnaise in Britain, are a must. Sometimes I make egg and cress (watercress) sandwiches, but more often egg and dill.
Egg and Dill tea sandwiches
When serving two or three different sandwiches, each should have a different bread. For egg and dill sandwiches, I like either dill rye or a very good white bread. Real mayonnaise is a must; please do not substitute that “salad dressing” with the initials MW!
Take half a stick of unsalted butter out of the refrigerator a few hours in advance so that it will be very spreadable. Thinly butter just the bottom slices; put mayonnaise on the top slices.
Egg and Dill Tea Sandwiches
(Makes 28)
5 large eggs, cold
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon curry powder
14 slices dill rye bread, half buttered, half mayo’d
1. Place eggs in a single layer in saucepan. Add enough room temperature water to cover eggs completely and an inch over. Bring to a rapid boil over high heat. As soon as rapid boil is reached, remove pan from the heat and cover tightly with the lid. Let stand for 18 minutes. Drain and add cold water to pan; repeat twice. Leave eggs to cool for 15 minutes in cold water. Drain, and proceed with recipe or refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Peel eggs and chop rather finely. In medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Blend with fork to desired consistency. Divide and spread egg mixture evenly among the 7 buttered bread slices. Top with remaining mayo’d bread slices. Trim off crusts and cut each sandwich into 4.
3. To keep sandwiches moist until serving time, put them on a plate, cover them loosely with a paper towel, and then place a damp paper towel over the dry paper towel (never place a damp towel directly on top of the bread because the sandwiches will become soggy). Wrap tightly with plastic wrap or foil. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Uncover sandwiches just before serving.
Hope you enjoy my recipe!
(Copyright 2013 Jean at Delightful Repast delightfulrepast.com)
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Loving these food posts ;) I always try to see what the people are eating in the Britcoms I watch lol. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks, Julie! I feature a LOT of tea, teatime foods and English food in general at DelightfulRepast.blogspot.com as well as my tea-related posts here on Melissa’s terrific site. That’s too funny about you checking out the food in the Britcoms — I do that too!
Thank you (thank you, thank you) for not making the too-common mistake of calling afternoon tea “high tea.”
Maryn, doesn’t it just set your teeth on edge when people do that?! It’s like fingernails on a blackboard to me!