After a long hot summer, I’m in the mood for cooling nights and a little comfort food. As I’ve noted before Autumn is my favorite season in Southern California. We’ve got bluer than blue skies this time of year and though there’s a chill in the air the sun still shines warmly. It’s a season I like to spend in the kitchen. It’s a time when everyone is still pretty mellow after their season in the sun, but we can’t help looking forward to the energy of the coming holidays. How do you note the change? If you’re a cook it could be a fragrant soup pot or those pumpkin spices that signal the season’s arrival—but for me, it’s the good woodsy mushrooms. Soft Scrambled Eggs and Garlicky Chanterelles on Toast. The comfort of eggs wrapped in an umami embrace.
I love chanterelle mushrooms. However, they’re not an everyday kind of food. From this cook’s point of view, it’s worth waiting until Autumn to make Soft Scrambled Eggs and Garlicky Chanterelles on Toast. Of course, you can find great mushrooms at the supermarket year-round these days – all kinds. But you won’t see me reaching for the woodsy varieties, like chanterelles, until it’s scarf weather.
Soft Scrambled Eggs and Garlicky Chanterelles on Toast
Chanterelles pair marvelously with eggs. You’d be hard-pressed to find a substitute for umami-packed mushrooms to lend an earthy depth to, say, an omelet.
However, most times I can’t be bothered to fuss over an omelet. Good omelets take finesse. Instead, I serve the sizzling caramelized chanterelles over a mound of soft, creamy, luxurious scrambled eggs on a chunky piece of buttered toast. Granted, really good scrambled eggs require their own form of diligence so I’ve done my best to describe my cooking method in the recipe below.
As I said, chanterelles are special, so don’t relegate these soft scrambled eggs to a blurry-eyed breakfast – you won’t find a more elegant Autumn dinner than adding a few lightly dressed salad greens and a glass of Chablis next to a plate of Soft Scrambled Eggs and Garlicky Chanterelles on Toast. GREG
Ingredients
- 8–10 ounce Chanterelle mushrooms
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- sea salt (as needed)
- 1–2 clove garlic (peeled and minced)
- ¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (at room temperature, divided)
- 2 slice rustic bread (toasted and buttered)
Directions
Gently clean the chanterelles then pull them apart lengthwise into evenly sized strips. It’s a small detail but tearing as opposed to slicing lets the heat get to a lot more edges of the mushroom creating a more interesting texture. Set aside.
Crack eggs into a medium bowl and add a pinch of sea salt. Use a whisk to whip the eggs until uniformly pale yellow in color, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
Heat a 12-inch sauté pan with a lid over medium-high heat add olive oil and swirl the pan to completely coat the bottom. Lay the torn chanterelles in as close to a single layer as possible. Let them cook undisturbed until they begin to brown at the edges, about 3 minutes. Stir, then cook undisturbed for another 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Stir in the garlic, parsley, and a few grinds of black pepper, and cook, stirring, another minute or so until the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat add 2 tablespoons butter and stir until melted. Cover and set aside in a warm place.
Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in an 8‑inch nonstick slope-sided skillet set over medium-low heat. When the butter is completely melted and beginning to foam pour the eggs into the center of the skillet and cook, without stirring, until a thin layer of cooked egg appears around the edge of the skillet. Then, using a small rubber spatula scrape the cooked edges of the eggs around the circumference of the skillet then use the spatula to loosen the eggs in the center. Keep the eggs moving constantly until creamy. Cut any thick curds that form with the spatula. Do not stop stirring, or leave the skillet’s side for more than a few seconds. I like to remove them from the heat when they’re still a bit runny on the top. The whole process should take less than 2 minutes. Immediately top the buttered toast slices with the warm soft eggs, then spoon some of the garlicky mushrooms over the eggs. Finish with a sprinkle with sea salt and a grind of black pepper.
Serve immediately.
Adoro i funghi, un piatto molto invitante, grazie!!!!
One of the pure simple pleasures indeed, and it’s gorgeous. A well made scrambled egg is definitely the sign of a hood cook and your eggs look perfect.
Ohhhh myyyy, Greg! This will be on my dinner table next week! With my garlic allergy, I will have to substitute shallots (which strangely enough don’t bother me), but the idea of your “sizzling caramelized chanterelles” over perfectly scrambled eggs atop thick slices of my homemade sourdough bread has my mouth watering!
I LOVE chanterelles (Although sometimes I think they are overrated at least in terms of “price — flavour”) So many wonderful ways to enjoy them, and you’ve got something terrific. Great combination of flavours and textures!
yum yum!
My gosh, this looks so wonderful! I ususally mark the season with apples, but reading about your toast makes me want to forget all about apples!
Mmmmm. Absolute perfection. A fabulous combination. And I love the photos.
Well, as you know, I will skip the garlic — but perhaps a shallot could stand in? Eggs and mushrooms are a divine coupling.
I love chanterelles , your toast looks divine. Although, I have to admit, I never put garlic on chanterelles. I have to try it. Thanks for the recipe.
Garlic isn’t mandatory. But I do think garlic enhances earthy flavors like mushrooms. Besides I’m a garlic fiend. GREG
We do the whole breakfast for dinner thing a lot, but this raises scrambled eggs to another level — really an elegant dish. And it cries out for a nice glass of wine, as you suggest. Really. Good. Stuff. 🙂 Thanks!