UPDATE: There is an new version of this recipe available in my cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK.

Happy October, folks! Since Halloween is just around the corner, I decided to do a spooky literary menu in honor of the season. Our theme this month is Edgar Allen Poe!

For our appetizer, we’re starting with a tribute to Poe’s famous poem, The Raven. These deviled “raven eggs” are a Halloween-y variation on our Cracked China Deviled Eggs. I used the cracked dying technique to create a black, spidery pattern over the eggs. I thought it would be fun to make the insides purple, and to avoid more dye, I used my own variation on a beet and avocado deviled egg recipe from Amazingly Tasty.

If beets aren’t your thing, I still highly recommend giving these a chance. I’m not normally a beet fanatic, but I love the subtle difference in flavor they bring to the filling. Plus, they’re healthier than normal deviled eggs, since they forgo the mayo and mustard—and you just can’t beat that color! 🙂

NOTE: The eggs need to soak for 7 hours before being peeled (this is what helps achieve the spidery pattern in the dye). I recommend hard boiling the eggs the night before you want to make the recipe and letting them soak overnight.

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Deviled Raven’s Eggs

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by angels whose faint foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
“Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite—respite and Nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!Let me quaff
this kind Nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”
Quoth the raven, “Nevermore.

—  The Raven

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 eggs
• 1 heaping cup of beets, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
• 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil, separated
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 garlic powder, optional
• black food coloring (NOTE: Gel coloring will give you a truer black with cleaner lines—here’s an example of an egg done with blue gel—but it’s a little more expensive and harder to find. Liquid coloring gives you a dark gray or indigo color depending on how long you soak the eggs, and the lines will be a little blurrier.)

Makes 12 deviled eggs

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INSTRUCTIONS:

1. 1. Put your eggs in a pot and fill with water. Place the pot over a burner set to medium-high heat. When the water just comes to a rolling boil, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the eggs sit for 7 minutes.
   2. Carefully remove the eggs from the water and let them sit in a bowl of cold water until they’re cool enough to handle.
   3. Pat the eggs dry. Now you’ll want to crack the shell all over the egg without removing it. I’ve found that the best way to do this is to tap the egg on the counter, rotating it as you tap until the whole shell is covered in cracks.
   4. Fill 6 coffee cups with 3/4 cup cold water and place them on a baking tray. If using liquid food coloring, stir 10 drops of color into each cup. If using gel coloring, use half that amount. Carefully lower 1 egg into each cup. Each egg should be completely submerged in liquid (add more water and dye, if necessary).
   5. Place the baking tray with the cups in the fridge for at least 7 hours (I like to make the eggs in the evening and let them sit overnight).
   6. When the eggs are just about finished soaking, preheat your oven to 375°. Toss your beets in 1 tbsp olive oil and a dash each of salt and pepper. Spread out the beets on a baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes or until fork tender.
      
   7. While you wait for the beets to cool, remove your eggs from the cups and pat them dry with a paper towel. Peel away the shells and cut the eggs in half lengthwise. Remove the yolks and place them in a food processor with 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil and a 1/4 tsp each of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
      
      

      Be careful when removing the eggs from the cups (I recommend lifting them out with a spoon). We’re dealing with black dye, which stains easily.

      

      The peeled eggs. I NEVER get tired of using this dyeing technique. It always looks SO COOL! 🙂

   8. When the beets are cool, add them to the processor and process on high until smooth.
      
      

      Before

      

      After

   9. Scoop the beet mix into a piping bag fitted with a large, round tip and pipe the mix into the egg halves.
      
   10. Serve to your favorite talking raven.
       
         

There is also a new version of this recipe
available in my cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK! 🙂