Plain Egg Salad

A straightforward composed salad that depends entirely on the eggs being cooked correctly and everything being cold when it reaches the table.

• Hard-boiled, not overboiledPeriod instructions for "boiling hard" vary, and the longer end of that range gives a chalky yolk and a grey-green ring at the surface. Ten to twelve minutes in water held just below a simmer is enough for a firm yolk that still slices cleanly.
• The cold water mattersDropping the eggs straight into cold water is not just for handling; it stops the cooking, and it can help the peel come away more cleanly, though how easily an egg peels depends largely on how fresh it is.
• Boiled dressingA boiled dressing is the cooked flour-or-egg-thickened dressing of the period, sharp with vinegar and mustard and thinned with milk. It is closer to a warm custard than to vinaigrette, and it appears throughout the period as an alternative to whisking oil into raw yolks.
• Mayonnaise"Thick" is the operative word. A loose mayonnaise slides off the egg quarters and pools; if using commercial mayonnaise, thin it barely or not at all.
• Chill the dishThe instruction to line a chilled dish is deliberate. Keeping eggs, plate and dressing cold helps the dressing hold its body rather than thinning as it sits.
• OlivesThe recipe specifies only chopped olives, used as a garnish rather than folded through. Pat them dry so the brine does not run into the dressing.
• YieldEight eggs serves four as a light lunch course or six to eight as a side salad. Plan on about a cup of dressing.