You Must Be Yolking Egg Salad

This single-serving curried egg salad is the kind of fast lunch fix that turns one hard-boiled egg into something that actually tastes like a meal. Cottage cheese stretches the egg into a satisfying portion while cutting the fat in half compared to a straight mayo-bound salad. A pinch of curry powder is what saves it from being plain.

The trick is using low-fat 1% cottage cheese rather than a thick mayo base. The cottage cheese curds break down a bit when stirred and add bright tang along with extra protein. Light mayo binds everything together and keeps the texture creamy without piling on calories.

A half teaspoon of curry powder might seem like a lot for one egg, but it’s exactly right. Curry needs body to bloom, and the cottage cheese carries it well without going pasty. Use a fresh blend if you can. Old curry powder tastes flat and dusty.

Serve mounded in lettuce leaves for a low-carb plate, on soda crackers for a snack, or stuffed into a pita for a proper portable lunch.

Pro Tips

• Chop the egg fine but not into mush. Visible egg pieces give better texture than a totally smooth mash.
• Make ahead by an hour if you can. The curry needs time to bloom into the cottage cheese for fuller flavor.
• Drain excess liquid off the cottage cheese before mixing if it looks watery. Wet salad is sad salad.
• Scale up easily by multiplying everything for two, three, or four people. The ratios hold.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of finely diced celery or red onion for crunch.
• Stir in a teaspoon of mango chutney to lean into the curry flavor with sweet tang.
• Use Greek yogurt in place of the cottage cheese for an even higher-protein, smoother version.