Scrambled Eggs, Reine Margot

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Four 9 cm (3½-inch) shallow tartlet tins
• •Rolling pin
• •Baking parchment and ceramic pie weights
• •Mortar and pestle or electric spice grinder
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Flexible silicone spatula
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small piping bag or narrow-bowled spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Make both nut butters

   If the pistachio skins are dark, cover the nuts with boiling water for one minute, drain them, and rub away the loosened skins; dry them completely. Grind the almonds to the finest meal possible, then work in their softened butter until the beurre d'amandes becomes a smooth paste. Scrape it into a small bowl and repeat with the pistachios and their butter to make the beurre de pistaches. Keep the two clearly separate. Do not toast the nuts: browning would muddy the pistachio colour and replace their gentle sweetness with a stronger roasted flavour.

2. 2

   Mix the pale pastry

   Combine the flour with ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized flakes, then add the yolk and 2 tablespoons of ice water. Press the dough together without kneading it. If it remains crumbly when squeezed, add the final tablespoon of water drop by drop; if it feels sticky, chill it rather than burying it in more flour. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.

3. 3

   Bake shells without colour

   Heat the oven to 170°C/340°F. Roll the chilled pastry between sheets of parchment to about 3 mm thick, then cut four rounds large enough to line four 9 cm tartlet tins. Ease the pastry into the corners without stretching it, trim the rims, prick the bases, and chill for 15 minutes. Line each shell with parchment and weights, then bake for 14 to 16 minutes. Remove the weights and bake for another 4 to 6 minutes, only until the pastry is dry and firm while remaining almost ivory. A faint blond base is acceptable; a raw, damp base is not. If the rims begin colouring first, shield them with narrow strips of foil. Cool for five minutes, then unmould carefully.

   Baked without coloration does not mean underbaked. Judge the shell by dryness and firmness, not by a golden surface.
4. 4

   Finish pistachio Béchamel

   Warm the milk with the onion, clove, and nutmeg until it barely trembles, then cover and infuse for five minutes. Remove the onion and clove, and reserve 2 tablespoons of the warm milk. Melt the Béchamel butter over low heat, stir in its flour, and cook this roux blanc, a white roux, for 90 seconds without letting it colour. Whisk in the remaining milk a little at a time, then simmer gently for about five minutes, stirring until the sauce is smooth, glossy, and able to fall from a spoon in a narrow cord. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of white pepper. If lumps form, remove the pan from the heat, whisk firmly, and pass the sauce through a fine sieve; if it is too thick to trace a line, loosen it with the reserved milk. Off the heat, whisk in all the beurre de pistaches. Cover the surface directly and hold the sauce in a bowl of warm water.

5. 5

   Scramble the eggs softly

   Return the tartlet shells to a 150°C/300°F oven for three minutes and set four plates somewhere warm, never hot. Beat the eggs just until the whites and yolks combine, seasoning them with the remaining salt and white pepper. Melt the scrambling butter in a clean heavy saucepan over low heat without browning it. Add the eggs and stir continuously with a flexible spatula, scraping the base and corners while moving the pan on and off the heat whenever the curds form too quickly. After six to eight minutes, the eggs should gather into small, soft folds that mound briefly and then relax. Remove the pan while they remain glossy and stir in all the beurre d'amandes. If the eggs begin tightening at the rim, lift the pan off the heat immediately and transfer them to a cool bowl while stirring in the almond butter. Ça se rattrape while they still shine; once they are dry and matte, no amount of butter can make them soft again.

   A deep saucepan gives you more control than a broad skillet. Keep the heat low and the eggs moving; the desired texture is creamy throughout, not browned underneath.
6. 6

   Fill and ring

   Place one warm tartlet shell on each plate and divide the eggs among them, spooning rather than packing so the soft folds remain intact. Stir the pistachio Béchamel until fluid, warming it briefly over the water bath if needed. With a small spoon or piping bag, draw a narrow, continuous cord of sauce around each tartlet, close against its outer edge as the source directs. Carry the plates straight to the table. Œufs brouillés wait for nobody. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose raw, unsalted almonds and pistachios. Roasted nuts dominate the eggs, while salt already clinging to the pistachios makes the two compound butters difficult to season with precision.
• •The pistachio Béchamel must flow in a narrow cord and hold its place. If it spreads into a puddle, simmer it briefly before adding the beurre de pistaches; if it sits in a stiff rope, loosen it with warm milk.
• •Warm plates protect the eggs from cooling, but hot plates keep cooking them. They should feel pleasantly warm under your palm, not fierce.
• •Serve with a dry blanc de blancs Champagne or another taut, mineral sparkling wine. Its acidity clears the butter and nuts without bullying the eggs.

Advance Preparation

• •The pastry dough can be mixed one day ahead and kept chilled. Let it soften only until it rolls without cracking.
• •The tartlet shells can be baked up to eight hours ahead and kept airtight once completely cool. Rewarm them for three minutes before filling.
• •Both nut butters can be prepared up to three days ahead, covered, and chilled. Bring them to cool room temperature so they blend smoothly into the eggs and sauce.
• •The plain Béchamel can be made several hours ahead. Cover its surface, chill it, then reheat gently and add the beurre de pistaches shortly before scrambling the eggs.
• •The eggs cannot be made ahead or held. Scramble them only when the shells, sauce, and plates are ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 215g)