Eggs and Peppers (and Tomatoes and Onions)

…and maybe other things too, if you wish. You could add chard and chard stems, or just stems if you have them left over from another dish. Olives, artichoke hearts, beans, mushrooms…Serve with avocado chunks, labne (I use it instead of sour cream), some fiery hot sauce and slabs of toast.

INGREDIENTS:

9 eggs

1 medium-small yellow or white onion, cut into ¼ inch dice

3-4 cups mixed peppers cut into various shapes, but keep them to the same volume (e.g. ½ x ½ inch, ¼ x 1 inch-or a little longer- if you have smaller padrons leave them whole, if you have hot peppers, cut them into a fine dice and use as much as you are comfortable with)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced cilantro stem (wash really well before mincing)

½ teaspoon dried oregano and marjoram

¼ teaspoon thyme

1-2 cups tomatoes, seeded and cut into ½ inch or smaller dice

Olive oil as needed

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup of your finest water

METHOD:

Break eggs into a very large bowl. Add the water and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Using a large whisk, whip the eggs until they are thoroughly mixed and picking up volume. Add the dried herbs and salt and pepper, whisk some more.

Heat a 12 inch pan over medium high heat. When hot, film with oil. When oil is very hot, add the peppers (except for minced hot peppers) and sauté until they blister a little and soften.

Turn down the heat and add the minced peppers and onions. Season with a little salt and pepper, add the minced cilantro, and toss. Sauté, keeping things moving so the garlic and onions do not scorch. The alliums should soften and become translucent, but not darken.

Toss so all the vegetables in the pan are combined. Ensure the pan bottom has a fair amount of oil on it. Whisk the eggs a little, and then pour them into the pan. While you pour, use a wooden spatula to vigorously stir where you are pouring so the egg is forced outwards towards the pan rim. Once all the eggs are in the pan, turn up the heat and make scrambled eggs. Depending on the pan, if everything is sticking, you will want to leave the pan alone for a few minutes, and then stir, pushing down on the pan bottom. The pause allows Maillard browning to occur, where natural sugars caramelize and release easily (see Maillard reaction on line for definition), but leave the eggs too long and you get very funky eggs. Continue scrambling until eggs are down. Transfer to a serving dish and scatter with tomatoes and cilantro and serve hot. Pass the labne and hot sauce.

Chef’s Notes: If you wish, you could add grated Monterey Jack to the eggs towards the end of cooking, or just as you serve the dish. Add things like artichoke hearts with the onions or even the peppers, add olives to the eggs themselves, scatter avocado on the top, etc. The idea is to time the cooking so things heat through, but do not burn.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen