Spanish Scrambled Eggs On Toast, RC Style

The key to making good eggs is to avoid overcooking them. And the key to avoid overcooking your eggs is to control the heat. So in this recipe, I instruct the use of moderate heat, to maintain moist but cooked scrambled eggs. Because this can sometimes go wrong in a matter of seconds, practice makes perfect! 

I also use an unusual ingredient here; dried bell peppers (not essential to the recipe, if you can't obtain it). These were made in a food dehydrator (see left). They take a couple of days to dry in the dehydrator. Though hardly an essential tool in the kitchen, the food dehydrator can be fun to have around. It allows you to dehydrate fruits and vegetables, concentrating the nutrients, and making the ingredient very chewy, dry and sweet. So it packs more flavour when you fix it into a recipe. It also allows you to store the ingredient for a much longer time, making it a popular choice for campers. I like to use butter for this, rather than oil or margarine, as it has a significant impact on the overall result. Now, let's get started!....

Ingredients

butter
2 eggs
1 cl garlic, mashed
salt
about 1/4t - 1/2t turmeric
5 or 6 slices dried bell peppers (substitute: fresh bell pepper or your favourite ingredient)

First, prepare your ingredients before heating anything up, as the cooking process is very quick. The garlic needs to be flavourful for this dish. Which means it needs to be mashed up, as illustrated, and explained elsewhere on this blog. I use just one small clove, and I am mostly mashing it (the more salt added, the easier the mash). I feel very little, if any, slicing is necessary here, and that it will better flavour the butter if left more or less intact. However, the dried peppers are to be sliced in fine bits. Scramble two eggs in a bowl, adding a little salt if desired (though the garlic will probably add enough salt). Scramble lightly just for a few seconds, enough to mix them, but not to thoroughly blend.

Once that's done, place a 10" or so skillet on a med. heat ("6" on the dial for most stove tops). I like to use a stainless steel skillet for this recipe. It's more common to use a non-stick, but a stainless does a better and more even job of browning. You don't have to worry about sticking, if you control your heat. Here's how to do that: add a pat of butter (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet when melted). Then turn the heat on medium ("6"), wait for the butter to melt - but never allow it to brown. Once it is starting to melt, add the mashed garlic, chopped dried pepepers, and turmeric. Mix it up immediately with a metal spoon. When the mix starts sizzling, add the scrambled eggs, and mix. Keep mixing the egg mixture so all parts begin to get cooked. When it is starting to congeal, but while it is still wet and before the mixture is fully cooked, take the pan off the heat and continue mixing the eggs (holding the pan in the air, or on a trivet). The residual heat will help cook the eggs. Mix it all together until the liquid has most disappeared, but the eggs should still look a little bit moist. (As opposed to dry and rubbery).

As illustrated, I serve this on a toasted bagel - but it can be served on a slice of toasted no-knead bread (see recipe), or other types of bread. To toast the bagel, place it whole in a toaster, make sure its well toasted, then slice in half. This will keep the inside moist and flavorful, and the outside crisp. I was in a bit of a rush with the illustrations, so there is only a bagel on the plate! I recommend serving fresh fruit on the side.