I’m not going to lie. I’m not much of a breakfast person. Pancakes: meh. Waffles: they’re ok. Omelets: not impressed. When I go out with my friends for brunch, I typically stick with the more lunch-y foods – eggs benedict, quiche. Heck, I’ll even take a salad. One thing I can always dig, though, is a good scrambled egg. Load that sucker up and add lots of cheese, please!
Scrambled eggs are an amazing one pot wonder I love to make at home. I’ll make them when I’m short on time, trying to get rid of food in my fridge, or need a quick protein injection. And, keeping with the overly honest theme, I make a KILLER scramble.
The key to making truly great scrambled eggs is timing. Remember, you’re at home, in your own kitchen, not at the omelet station trying to pump out as many plates as possible. Slow it down a little, don’t throw everything in the pan at once. Add the ingredients one or two at a time. Instead of dumping everything in together, you have the opportunity to give some ingredients more time to cook and enhance their taste. The recipe below details the appropriate time to incorporate ingredients so that each is cooked to perfection and optimizes the full prism of flavors.
Mediterranean Scrambled Eggs
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 tbsp minced garlic (approx 3 large cloves)
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 3-4 eggs (note 1)
- 1 tbsp milk (any type that you have in your refrigerator)
- 2 tbsp feta cheese
- 7-9 Kalamata olives, halved
- 8-9 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Tip: Steps 1-3 go fairly slowly, especially if you do all the chopping ahead of time. Once you get to step 4, though, the process moves quickly. You definitely want to make sure you have all your ingredients prepped for these steps, otherwise you’ll really be scrambling. (Bad pun, but you know I couldn’t help myself.)
1. In a large sauce pan (I used my cast iron, because I love cast iron, but whatever you have in your kitchen will work just fine), heat olive oil over medium low heat, 2-3 on a dial of 10. Add onions, peppers, and a large pinch of salt. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. While you’re waiting for the onions, peppers, and garlic to slowly simmer to perfection, whisk eggs and milk together in a separate bowl. Add a large pinch of both salt and pepper.
4. Fold the spinach into the onion/pepper/garlic mixture. Continue to stir until spinach starts wilting.
5. Pour egg mixture into sauce pan. Stir a couple of times to distribute eggs, then let everything set for 2-3 minutes, until the eggs are mostly cooked.
6. Turn off stove and stir in cheese, olives, and tomatoes. The eggs will continue to cook for another minute. Serve immediately.
Serves 2-3.
Note 1: You can use the whole egg, just the white, or some combo in between those two, depending on your dietary needs. 3-4 makes a mildly “eggy” dish. If you want it more “eggy” and less “veggie”, just add more eggs.
Note 2: A quick sidebar on my personal taste (which is how I crafted this recipe). I love my onions and peppers caramelized in order to offset the saltiness of the feta and Kalamata olives, which is why I used the low temperature setting for a long time. I also prefer my tomatoes warm, but not really cooked. If you want your tomatoes more cooked, add them in with the spinach. Or if you want them really well done, add them in with the garlic.
salt and honey 