Speaking of acquired tastes (I really quite like anchovies), I have got something that I’ve been wanting to post since Easter.
I am wondering if any of you know this or have a similar dish:
This is a Solei or “pickled egg”. Traditionally, these are/were sold as quick snacks at pubs. In my family (and maybe others?) we make them for Easter. Just hardboil eggs, crack the shell somewhat but leave it on and then put them in a saturated saline solution for a week in a cool dark place. There are recipes with spices but these can lead to funny tastes and I have stopped trying to improve upon the perfection of simplicity.
To eat: remove the shell, cut egg in half, extract the yolk, fill the egg with mustard, vinegar and oil, season with pepper and salt put yolk on top. Finally, shove half an egg into your mouth and enjoy. The trick with the spoon is a recent one making it easier to deal with egg whites that have holes in them (we used to “repair” those with mustard.
I managed to make my partner acquire this peculiar taste.
The pickled eggs can be bought at stores but I’ve never done that. I think these are mostly popular in the Ruhr Valley where my parents are from.