I'm not the first to notice the meditative state that sometimes comes about while cooking. When you are completely focused on what you are doing it's easy to get all those pesky thoughts out of your head. But there is another mental state that cooking can produce. Calmness.
I was reading about how the long and slow method of cooking onions is preferable to cooking them fast over high heat and it got me thinking. That time spent over the stove can be very therapeutic. Which in turn got me thinking about eggs.
If there is one food that people are more picky about than any other, it's got to be eggs. We all prefer them a certain way. I've heard that some chefs test out potential kitchen help by asking them to cook eggs. And of course in sushi bars it is completely acceptable to ask to try the tamago, a sweet scrambled egg in order to decide whether or not the sushi bar meets your standards. Scrambled eggs are a simple dish, but not necessarily simple to get right.
No matter how you like your eggs, if you eat eggs, please, try cooking scrambled eggs low and slow. The 10 minutes you spend stirring the eggs over very low heat, so slow you barely see any progress, will slow you down. Plus the eggs end up so luxuriously soft and creamy they will transport you. You can really make these something special with truffles, fresh herbs, whatever you like. I particularly like garam masala. And you know, it's only 10 minutes...
Note: This recipe was inspired by a dish I had for brunch at the restaurant Foreign Cinema.
Creamy Scrambled Eggs with Cherry Tomatoes
Serves two
Ingredients
2 slices of wheat or white sandwich bread, very thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon butter
4 eggs, preferably free-range organic
1 Tablespoon milk or cream
10 – 15 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 teaspoons truffle oil, a couple pinches of truffle salt or garam masala (whatever spice or herb you like with eggs is fine)
Salt
Instructions
Toast the bread and set aside. Break the eggs into a bowl, add the milk and beat with a whisk until combined. Heat a non-stick or omelet pan over low heat. Add the butter to the pan and when melted add the eggs. Cook the eggs very slowly; stirring constantly until almost, but not completely cooked through, this will take about 10 minutes.
To assemble: Place one whole slice of toast on each plate, top with scrambled eggs and sprinkle with truffle salt, truffle oil or garam masala. Surround the toast with cherry tomato halves. Season with salt to taste. Serve with additional toast, if desired.
Enjoy!
FOOD
