A Touch Of Decadence - Ouefs Brouillés (French-Style Rich And Creamy Scrambled Eggs)

Rich And Buttery Scrambled Eggs

Melting the butter

Whisk the eggs with the cooled melted butter

Ready to make the scrambled eggs

Finely chopped chives

Add the eggs to the pan

Cook gently over a gentle heat

Soft creamy eggs

Add  cold butter towards the end

Rich And Creamy Scrambled Eggs

This is not a dish for the faint hearted. The sheer amount of butter mentioned in the ingredients list is more than enough to give one a heart attack, and since we are all extremely health conscious these day, what with all the half-fat cream, skimmed milk and low fat diet etc; it is unthinkable for a recipe to called for a big chunk of butter not least just for breakfast. But there comes a time when a little decadence and pure indulgence is needed. Especially on a lazy Sunday morning when your head is far too sore to do the calories count as you try to recover from the night before. This is exactly what you'll need to give yourself a head start, an adrenaline rush to wake yourself up and prepare yourself for the rest of the day.

I first came across this in a quaint little cafe called Salon de thé Carette in Place des Vorges, Paris. It sells the most amazing patisserie and an impressive selections of colourful and delicious tarts, cakes and macaroons. But what really impressed me was the range of scrambled eggs that was on offered. Plain, with a selection of herbs, with ham, salmon etc. And the portion size were rather on the generous side too. And in typical french style, they were cooked with a lots of butter, but that is precisely what made it so scrumptious and memorable. Since then, I have been trying to recreate the creamy scrambled eggs, whisking the eggs with cream, adding cream towards the end but I think the true secret to achieve a successful velvety creamy texture, is the addition of cold butter right at the very end and beat it in with all the strength you can gather. Serves this with a thick slice of toast  and loads of chopped chives for a perfect Sunday brunch.

We may not be in Paris today, but at least we can bring a bit of Paris into our home with this decadence dish. À bientôt.

(Serves 4)

Ingredients


12 free range eggs (6 for each person, it's meant for brunch after all )
25g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
25g cold unsalted butter
a handful of fresh chive, finely sliced into thin rings
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method


Whisk the eggs with the melted butter in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.


Melt a knob of  butter in a medium, non-stick pan over a medium heat. Do not allow the butter to go brown. Add the eggs and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon regularly every 10 seconds. When the eggs begins to thicken and starts to set, add the remaining cold butter and mix until you get an emulsified  and curd-like consistency. 


Remove from heat and serves immediately while it's still creamy and slightly runny with a generous sprinkle of chopped chives.