A DEVILISH LITTLE HISTORY: Boiled eggs with spicy fillings trace their provenance back to those Epicurean Romans, who used to dress their eggs with piquant fillings. Over the course of time, eggs have been stuffed with just about everything, from the herbs, cheese, and raisins preferred in Medieval European cookery to cilantro, fermented fish, and onions, liked by the Spanish as far back as the 13th century.
The term devilled eggs derives from the 18th-century English penchant for calling many spicy foods “deviled.” I grew up eating deviled eggs, which my parents typically prepared as a meze for guests. They’re easy to make ahead and the variations on the theme are endless.