Soft Scrambled Eggs

What packs more nutrition in a small space than an egg?  A large egg has 102 calories, minimal fat, nearly 7 grams of protein, and an array of healthy vitamins.  They’re also  yummy and good for you! What could be better? Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Eggs can be poached, scrambled, soft boiled,  baked, or made into a soft French omelet. Most ways of cooking eggs will make great food for swallowing.  Today, though, the focus is on the scrambled egg.

As is so often true in cooking, how to scrambled eggs engenders lots of strong opinions.  Today, we’re going to modify Julia Child’s approach. She whisked her eggs vigorously until they had a full head of froth but other cooks declare that the eggs not be whipped, but barely mixed.   Most agree with Julia , however, when she wrote in Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom (2000), that “Scrambled eggs should be soft, broken curds,” and the more tender and delicious they will be.”  You can see Julia’s technique on YouTube:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JUJ3IP8zA8.

In my opinion, it’s the ingredients and the slow stirring (I prefer using a rubber spatula) that will transform your eggs into soft curds of ambrosia.

Soft Scrambled Eggs

2 T.  salted butter

4 eggs, as fresh as possible

1
 tablespoon cream, milk, or crème fraiche, or water (not as yummy)

salt to taste

Melt 1 tablespoon of  butter in a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat.

Meanwhile, break the eggs into a fairly large mixing bowl and whisk them until the whites and yolks are well blended and frothy bubbles begin to form on the surface of the eggs.

Add the milk or cream, and continue to vigorously  whip until frothy.

When the butter foam subsides, pour the eggs into the pan, lower the heat to medium-low and begin to stir—making sure to stir all parts of the pan to keep the eggs from sticking. Stir constantly while scraping bottom and sides of pan, until eggs are just thickened, creamy, and small curds begin to form, 3–4 minutes total. (If mixture begins to stick to pan while cooking, remove from heat; whisk gently for 30 seconds, then continue cooking over heat.)

Remove from heat.

• Add 1/2 Tbsp. butter; whisk until melted. Season with salt; plate and serve.