I “heart” you finger sandwiches. Pretty and pink.
I have done these little sandwiches for bridal showers, baby showers and just because the are so cute. If you have an upcoming shower of any type, these are the perfect little sandwiches.
I love beets – period. On the other hand my husband says he doesn’t like “red” things on his plate and won’t try them. He does eat ketchup, tomatoes, and other red things. I think this is his way of saying “I don’t like beets”. I love the little heart cutouts for this sandwich and people are always thinking I hand carve them.
You’ll notice that only the outside is pink. The pinkness depends on how long you let them soak in the beet juice. These only soaked for about 3 hours. If you soak them overnight they will dye pink all the way to the yolk. Sometimes it may start to dye the yolk too so I usually remove after 5-6 hours. You can experiment with 4-5 hours first and if that isn’t pink enough soak longer on the next try.
You can make your own pickled beets (less expensive) or you can buy them already pickled. You will need a lot of juice if you are dying a dozen or more eggs. I would probably do at least 2 times the recipe below. My hearts were cut with a tiny aspic cutter made by Ateco (aspic or jelly cutters) 3/4″.
Egg Sandwich with Beet Garnish
- 1 can sliced beets
- 1 cup beet juice
- 1 cup vinegar
- 4 Tbsp. sugar
- 4 cloves
- 1 tsp. salt
- 12 hard boiled eggs peeled
- White bread cut in 2″ circles
Topping for Bread:
- Mayonnaise
- Fresh basil chopped fine
Bring all ingredients to a boil (except the eggs and the beets). Let cool then add eggs and soak a minimum of 4 hours. If you want the whites to turn pink all the way through, let them stand about 7-8 hours. Save your beets for another recipe or you can add back to the juice after you are finished dying the eggs.
Mix mayonnaise with fresh cut basil and top the bread circles with this mixture. Just before serving, slice the eggs carefully so you don’t lose any of the yolk. Top the bread slice with a slice of egg and then using a very small heart cutter, cut a slice of beet to go on top. You don’t want to put the beet heart on too soon or it will start to dye the yolk.