This recipe is all about the eggs. We're aiming for fluffy, creamy eggs. Undercooked, they're runny; overcooked, they're stiff.
Ingredients (for 2)::
4 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Crème fraîche
Salt & pepper (or other seasonings) to taste
Equipment:
1 quart sauce pan
Whisk
Olive oil spray
Extras:
Thick-sliced hearty bread
4 Campari tomatoes on the vine. (Roma tomatoes are fine, too.)
A handful of sliced portobello mushrooms
Cover sauce pan inside with olive oil spray; do not let eggs stick to the side of the pan while cooking. Break the eggs into the pan. Add butter and salt (see Extra Tips About Eggs below). A bit of stirring here helps the salt disperse through the eggs, but leave the thorough mixing for the cooking.
Attend to your extras.
Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Put the tomatoes (still on the vine) and mushrooms in.
Get your plates ready.
Toast the bread. The toast must be ready before the eggs are done.
Place sauce pan with the eggs and butter on medium heat. If you are seasoning with salt, this is the time to add it . While the eggs heat up, check on the tomatoes and mushrooms. These don't need to be cooked all the way down. Let the tomatoes retain their form.
When the egg whites start to cloud in the bottom of the pan, whisk everything together, breaking the yokes. Keep whisking lightly to mix the egg whites in thoroughly, and to keep the eggs from sticking to the sides and bottom of the pan. Put the pan on and off the heat as needed to keep the eggs from overcooking. When the eggs are about to set, remove from heat source, add the crème fraîche, and whisk together thoroughly. This adds richness, and it also cools the eggs a bit to ease the last moment of cooking in the pans retained heat. As soon as the cream is thoroughly mixed, head to your plates where the toast is waiting.
Plating:
Place the toast on the plate, and serve the eggs on top of the toast. Season the eggs to taste. Place the tomatoes (still on the vine) and mushrooms on the plate to the side of the eggs & toast. Serve immediately. Chives are always welcome.
Extra tips about eggs:
• As eggs heat up, their protein pulls tight together squeezing out moisture. Salt helps to prevent this, resulting in moister, creamier eggs.
• Breaking eggs on a flat surface makes for a cleaner break (with practice), and helps prevent small pieces of the shell, which will contain bacteria, from penetrating into the egg white and yoke.
• Free range chickens will have a more diverse nutritional diet, which produces a deeper orange egg yoke.