Originally published on July 12, 2014
Right now I’m reading My Life in France, by Julia Child. It’s a wonderfully funny and interesting book, and is somewhat familiar to me since it’s what the movie Julie and Julia is based on, and I’ve seen that about a kabillion times. In the book, Julia speaks about a Chef Bugnard that was immensely helpful to her during her time at Cordon Bleu, and she speaks at great length about the time he showed her how to make scrambled eggs. Before I read that chapter, I thought everyone made scrambled eggs the same way. Throw the eggs into a bowl with some cream or milk, beat it all into submission, and then pour into a hot hot pan before again, beating it all and scrambling the whole mess up. Turns out, that’s the way Julia was doing it, and she was wrong. We all were.
No, according to Chef Bugnard, you have to beat the eggs only slightly before turning them into the pan, and for heaven’s sake, don’t add anything else to them just yet! Let them sit in a pan over low heat for a few minutes without touching them, and then add the milk or cream and start turning them over. The result? Something that is much looser, much lighter, and much more custardy than the scrambled eggs we’re all used to. And to tell you the truth? While I think it’s worthwhile for everyone to try this method so they can determine for themselves whether or not they like it, I think I’ll leave this one to the Parisians.
Ingredients:
6 eggs, very lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons milk or cream
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
1.) Place a skillet over medium-low heat. When hot, add the butter and when the butter has melted, add the eggs. Allow the eggs to sit in the pan for 3 minutes, and then slowly start loosening them up and scrambling them within the pan. After you’ve turned the eggs once, let them sit for one minute so the uncooked portions can cook some, and then turn them again before letting the eggs sit for another minute. Continue doing this until the eggs have almost set in the pan, but are still quite loose.
2.) Add milk or cream and lightly mix it into the eggs. Let the eggs sit for another minute, just until the liquid has been absorbed, and then remove the entire mixture from the heat.
3.) Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the fresh parsley and mix to combine the seasonings.
4.) Serve and enjoy!