Scrambled Eggs with Truffles

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small 1-quart saucepan
• •Heavy 10-inch nonstick or well-seasoned skillet
• •Heatproof silicone spatula
• •Truffle slicer or very sharp paring knife
• •1-quart timbale or deep porcelain serving bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the truffle

   Brush the truffle clean, wiping away stubborn soil with a barely damp cloth, then dry it carefully. Cut off a piece weighing about 1/3 ounce (10 g) and leave it whole for cooking in Madeira. Slice the remaining 2/3 ounce (20 g) very thinly with a truffle slicer or sharp knife, keeping the best broad slices for the crown. Fill the serving timbale or deep porcelain bowl with hot water so it warms while you cook.

2. 2

   Cook in Madeira

   Put the whole 1/3-ounce (10 g) piece of truffle and the Madeira in the smallest saucepan you own. Bring it only to a quiet simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, turning the truffle once, until the Madeira has reduced to roughly 1 tablespoon and looks glossy. Lift out the truffle, let it cool for 2 minutes, then cut it into small dice, preserving the book's sequence of cooking first and cutting afterward. Return the dice to the reduction and set the pan aside. If the Madeira catches or disappears entirely, lift it from the heat and loosen it with 1 teaspoon of water. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Season the eggs

   Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the salt and white pepper. Beat just until the whites and yolks are fully joined, without whipping in a cap of foam. The eggs should pour as one golden liquid. Keep the cream cold, and cut 1 tablespoon of the butter into small pieces so it can melt quickly at the finish.

4. 4

   Scramble them slowly

   Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy 10-inch skillet over low heat. Add the eggs and stir continuously but calmly with a heatproof spatula, sweeping the floor and corners of the pan so nothing sets unnoticed. After 6 to 8 minutes, small tender curds will begin floating in a creamy base. Fold in the diced truffle with every drop of its Madeira reduction, then continue stirring for 30 to 60 seconds. If a dry film forms or the curds suddenly race ahead, take the pan off the heat and scrape the eggs into a cool bowl at once, then stir in 1 tablespoon of the cold cream. Ça se rattrape. Move at the first warning, because eggs already cooked hard cannot be made soft again.

   Low heat is not ceremony. It keeps the egg proteins from contracting abruptly, which is what separates tender curds from a dry scramble.
5. 5

   Arrest the cooking

   Remove the pan while the eggs remain looser than you intend to serve them. Fold in the cold butter pieces and all the remaining cream, or the final tablespoon if some cream was used for rescue. Stir until the butter disappears and the eggs become glossy, creamy, and softly mounded. Taste immediately for salt. The cold finish arrests the cooking, but it does not hold it forever.

6. 6

   Crown and serve

   Empty and dry the warmed timbale, then pour in the eggs rather than packing them down. Arrange the reserved truffle slices in an overlapping crown around the surface and serve at once. For the book's alternative presentation, divide the eggs among four warm, pale-baked puff-pastry tartlet shells and place one broad truffle slice on each. Cooking well is not cooking fancy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Fresh black truffle should smell deeply earthy before you buy it, and it should feel firm for its weight. If the season has passed, a good whole preserved black truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer; cook it in the Madeira exactly as written, knowing its aroma will be gentler.
• •Use medium-dry Madeira, not a sweet dessert bottling and not a bottle sold merely as cooking wine. Reduction concentrates everything, including poor wine.
• •A broad pan cooks these eggs too quickly. Use a heavy 10-inch skillet for eight eggs, keep the heat low, and have the cold cream beside you before you begin.
• •The tartlet version should remain pale. Bake all-butter puff-pastry shells just until crisp and set, because a deeply browned shell overwhelms the quiet texture of the eggs.
• •For guests who are pregnant, elderly, very young, or immunocompromised, use pasteurized eggs and cook until no liquid egg remains. The result will be firmer, but it can still be tender if the heat stays gentle.
• •Serve with Champagne or a restrained white Burgundy. Nothing sweet beside it, since the Madeira already supplies the dish's roundness.

Advance Preparation

• •Up to 2 hours before serving, cook the whole truffle piece in Madeira, cut it into dice, return it to the reduction, and keep it covered at cool room temperature.
• •The garnish truffle can be sliced up to 1 hour ahead and held in a tightly covered container. Longer exposure costs aroma.
• •Optional puff-pastry tartlet shells may be baked several hours ahead and kept uncovered in a dry place. Warm them briefly before filling.
• •Do not scramble the eggs ahead. They continue setting as they stand, and holding destroys the texture this dish is built to teach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 150g)