scrambled eggs

When I glance back to childhood from this distance, it seemed like we had bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning. Well, I admit there were cornflakes sometimes – just the cereal, some tinned or home bottled peaches and lots of the syrup, no milk. There was some vegemite on toast (white, unsliced loaf from the local dairy*). But eggs featured heavily. I wasn’t keen on poached eggs but didn’t mind them boiled, not too gooey, with soldiers. But the best was my mum’s scrambled eggs. She did them in the pan, not the pot, with diced bacon fried first in some oil or butter, then the beaten eggs and milk would be poured in and stirred, stirred, stirred. She cooked them thoroughly, dry-ish but never rubbery.

There used to be a café on Brunswick St called Guernica. This was when it was still a typical bohemian café, before it became a restaurant, long before it’s demise. They said they named it after the painting, but didn’t the owners ever study history at school? It was kind of odd to name a place associated with food and happiness, after a massacre. But going way back, when it was a café that served breakfast, I went there one day and had eggs scrambled with sun dried tomato and spring onion, served in a croissant. At last, I found my post-bacon scrambled combo.

I ditched the croissant and began making it with a thick slice or two of the best grainy toast. It is at least 15 years since that breakfast at Guernica and it remains my stalwart scramble.

Scrambled Eggs – Beyond Guernica
(per person)
1 spring (green) onion
1 large sundries tomato, diced
2 organic eggs
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
The best sourdough seedy bread you can find (or whatever turns you one)
Some butter for the pan

Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Slice onions on the diagonal and sauté on low with a little butter for about a minute. Add the sun dried tomatoes, stir for another 30 seconds.

Get the toast happening.

Add the eggs to the pan, gently lifting away from the sides with a wooden spoon when it begins to set. Keep the heat low otherwise they tend to toughen. Keep stirring, til just as moist as you prefer.

Serve.

Eat.

Of course, if you want to take a photo of said breakfast, warm a plate before hand so you don’t end up with cold eggs on toast!



Variations: It takes a little longer, but diced red onions cooked slowly or even caramelised are pretty yummy. I usually add some garlic when I cook them that way. Eggs are a great medium to get to know herbs. Add some finely chopped fresh, green herbs to the eggs once they have just begun to set and stir through.


* For those not versed in Trans-Tasman lingo: A dairy is a milk bar (Aus) or corner store (UK). American visitors, please fill me in with your equivalent.