Neither hurried nor harried eggs

Until I met Jarod, I was never a big egg eater, with fried eggs being a particular challenge. Jarod inhales eggs any which way they come.

There’s a myth that scrambled eggs are quick and easy to make. That’s half true. Easy? Yes. quick? No.

If you knock up scrambled eggs in under five minutes, you’ve done the humble egg a great disservice.

The key with these scrambled eggs is in the cooking. The very, very slow cooking and this recipe draws on the lessons of MFK Fisher who said that scrambled eggs ‘will not succeed if the cook is either hurried or harried.’

If you’re looking for a quick fix, this ain’t it.

You’ll want and need eggs with a strong bright yolk… the results look much better for them.

This is for one person, just scale up.

Music to prepare this dish to: ‘Gotta pull myself together’ by The Nolans

Ingredients

• 1 large knob unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs. As mentioned above, the yolk is key and I’ve just discovered Burford Browns
• Either 3 tablespoons double cream (my preference) or a heaped tablespoon crème fraîche (MFK Fisher’s preference though too sour for me)
• 1 teaspoon Maille Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Place a wide frying pan over a very low heat and melt the butter.
2. While the butter melts, mix the cream and mustard until well combined.
3. Add the two eggs and loosely beat. You want to see streaks of yellow and not a homogenous blend. Season with the salt and pepper.
4. Pour the mix into the pan with the melted butter and gently stir with a spatula in huge figures of 8. Slowly, assuredly and over and over again.
5. You’ll be tempted to up the temperature. Don’t.
6. Just. Keep. Stirring.
7. After about 15 minutes the eggs will start to cook, keep stirring until there is a mass of eggs with some runny bits all the way through. Because you’ve taken the time, you’ll have fluffy, wavy eggs.
8. Serve with buttered toasted sour dough and heaps of smoked salmon.

Eat with Prosecco – you deserve it for being so patient because by the time you’ve made this it’s past breakfast and time for brunch