Name: Uova sode alla piemontese
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 small jar or can of tuna packed in oil (about 150-200g/5-7 oz); 2-3 heaping Tbs mayonnaise (preferably homemade); A pinch of capers (rinsed and squeezed dry); 4 anchovy fillets (or to taste); A few drops of fresh lemon juice (optional); olive oil; salt (to taste)

Uova sode alla piemontese (Stuffed Eggs Piemonte Style), also known as uova ripiene al tonno, is an exquisitely simple yet elegant dish. Just hard boiled eggs filled with tuna whipped with the egg yolks, capers and anchovies, and sometimes olives. The recipe is about as effortless as you can imagine, made with ingredients that, if you’re an Italian cook, you’re always likely to find in your pantry. It should take you no more than 30 minutes (probably less) from start to finish.

And yet, the result is an elegant and intensely savory dish that’s fit for a banquet. Or a buffet or family picnic. Yet another example, if any were needed, of the sublime simplicity that is Italian cookery at its best. But like many such simple dishes, you need to pay attention to the little things, in particular your choice of ingredients.

Ingredients

Makes 12 filled eggs, enough for 2-3 as antipasto or 4-6 as part of a buffet

6 eggs, hard boiled and peeled

For the filling:

1 small jar or can of tuna packed in oil, about 150-200g/5-7 oz
2-3 heaping Tbs mayonnaise, preferably homemade
A pinch of capers, rinsed and squeezed dry
4 anchovy fillets (or to taste)
A few drops of fresh lemon juice (optional)
olive oil
salt, to taste

Directions

Split the hard boiled eggs lengthwise. Arrange the whites, cut side up, on a serving platter. Gingerly remove the yolks from the whites with a teaspoon, taking care not to break the whites.

Place the egg yolks, along with the tuna, capers, chopped anchovy fillets and 2 heaping tablespoons of mayo (plus a drizzle of olive oil if using store-bought mayo) in the bowl of a food processor.

Process until you have a smooth and creamy paste. Add another spoonful of mayo if you feel it needs it. Add a few drops of lemon juice if you like, just enough to brighten the mixture without adding actual acidity.

Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Transfer the filling to a pastry bag with a large star-shaped tip, then pipe the filling into the hollow of the egg whites.

Serve your uova sode alla piemontese, garnished if you like with a caper, a bit of green olive, or minced parsley or chives.

Notes

As we’ve seen, the recipe is about a simple as it gets. There’s basically no way to go wrong here in terms of technique. In fact, you can make an even easier homey version of this dish by just vigorously mixing the filling with a wooden spoon or spatula (or even better a dough whisk) rather than puréeing it in a processor. And you can forego the pastry bag and just spoon the filling onto the egg whites.

As with many Italian dishes, what’s key for making uova sode alla piemontese is the quality of the ingredients. That can make or break the dish. So here are some tips on choosing and prepping the main ingredients:

Choosing and hard boiling the eggs

Let’s start at the beginning, the eggs. Ideally you’d be raising your own chickens. Or know someone who does. No joke by the way. In our last couple of years in Rome we lived outside town and had our own chicken coop. And, boy, you’d be amazed how much more flavor those eggs had than any you could buy. I still dream about those eggs sometimes…

But alas, that’s not an option for 99.9% of us, so you want best quality pasture raised eggs for the best taste. then here’s my favorite way to boil eggs: Place your eggs in a saucepan with enough water to cover them well, say by at least 3cm/1 inch. Bring the eggs to a boil, then turn off the heat. Cover the pan and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes. Drain them in a colander and run them under cold water until they are cool enough to handle. Then peel them, again under running water. Let them cool completely.

I love this method as it’s just about foolproof. They come out perfect every time. If you like your yolks a bit runny, remove them from the heat a minute or two before the 10 minute mark. NB: For this dish, you want your eggs fully hard boiled so leave them to cook for the full 10 minutes. In fact, you can leave them a few minutes longer than that without fear of overcooking.

Choosing your tuna

Perhaps even more than the eggs themselves, tuna is the star ingredient in making uova sode alla piemontese. Use the best quality tuna you can afford. Generally speaking, the best tuna is sold in jars rather than tins. And when I’m feeling flush, I splurge on Ortiz brand from Spain or Agostino Recca from Italy. Tonnino from Costa Rica also makes an excellent tuna.

A lower cost alternative (for North American readers) is Genova brand which, despite the name and semi-deceptive marketing complete with images of the Amalfi Coast, is actually put out by the same US company that makes “Chicken of the Sea” (!) Packed in the US, its tuna comes from various sources, in my experience usually Thailand. While not in same league as the other just mentioned, it’s perfectly acceptable as an ‘everyday’ tuna.

But whatever you do, as for any Italian cooking, do be sure to use tuna packed in olive oil. Water packed tuna is just too dry. And I find it stays that way even if you mix it with mayo or oil. And again, avoid tuna with any extraneous flavorings.

The mayonnaise

If you have the time, you should make your own, following our recipe for Italian-style mayonnaise, using one of those pasture raised eggs we told you about above. If you’re armed with a hand blender, making mayo at home takes literally seconds.

But if you need/want to use store bought may, then look for a brand that’s as unadulterated as you can find, ideally just eggs and oil, and perhaps a bit of lemon juice. Avoid brands that lean into the mustard or other extraneous seasonings and, for heaven’s sake, avoid any with sweeteners. (For our US readers, Hellman’s or Duke’s are both good choices.) And unless it’s made with olive oil, add a good drizzle of olive oil to the filling mixture.

Variations

The filling for uova sode alla piemontese is often made without mayonnaise, just ample amounts of olive oil. I have a hunch this might actually be the original recipe, in fact. I suppose there’s some logic to leaving out the mayo, since even without it the filling already includes both egg yolk and oil, the two main ingredients that go into making mayonnaise. So you could argue the mayonnaise is superfluous. That said, I’m a sucker for the creaminess that mayonnaise lends to the filling and, far from leaving it out, I usually go heavy on it.

Green olives are a very common addition to the filling for uova sode alla piemontese. Personally I find the olives tend to overwhelm the other flavors, plus they add a rather unattractive greenish hue to the filling. But if you like their piquancy, then I’d avoid puréeing them with the other ingredients. Mince them separately and fold them in with a spatula. And use of milder variety like the Castelvetrano.

Not really a variation but another lovely stuffed egg dish from Piemonte is called uova alla Bella Rosina, where you mix the egg yolks of hard boiled eggs with mayonnaise and lemon juice and a pinch of salt. The egg yolk mixture is then passed through a mesh to create a mimosa-like filling for the egg whites.

Making ahead

Being a cold dish, uova sode alla piemontese can easily be made ahead and refrigerated until needed. If you do this more than a few hours ahead, however, I’d leave the eggs unstuffed and the filling in an airtight container until shortly before serving. Otherwise, the filling may develop an unattractive skin.

Print Recipe