In my family, we only ever ate deviled eggs for special occasions, but my mom made them for every special occasion. They were present at Easter, bridal showers, baby showers, Christmas, the odd birthday here and there, and always, always Thanksgiving. She carefully sprinkled paprika over each one and flavored the filling with an unmeasured dash of sweet pickle brine. This egg salad takes its inspiration from her famous Deviled Eggs and it has the very same flavor my whole family loves – it’s just in salad form. (Which is great news, because it means you can go ahead and spread it on a sandwich!)

Now, when my mom makes deviled eggs, the filling is smooth, so there’s no relish or chopped celery or onion to be seen. But since this is a salad and it can handle the texture, it takes a few liberties with her traditional ingredients.

There’s diced celery and onion, a few tablespoons of sweet relish, and then a dressing made mostly of mayo and Dijon mustard, but also a dash of Tabasco and sweet pickle brine. She pours the pickle juice straight out of the jar without measuring, but a dozen eggs in this application can handle about two teaspoons worth.

It makes for a creamy, flavorful salad with a bit of sweetness and a bit of tang. It’s soft but studded with crunch and wouldn’t be complete without that telltale sprinkle of paprika over the top.