There are inevitably many cons to having a food blog. Needing to produce content regularly and consistently is a big one, as is having to learn additional skills such as photography, website development, and marketing tools. Maintaining the site and dealing with technical glitches is a task I loathe. And trying not to get too downhearted when readership is low can be tough at times. 

But having my own blog does mean I get to wax lyrical about any damn (albeit, culinary-adjacent) topic I please. You saw this first with my article on Cream and now you get to endure it once again - you lucky readers, you - on the very serious matter of scrambled eggs.

I eat scrambled eggs more days than I don’t. It’s protein rich, hot, quick, and is appropriate for almost any meal. On a weekday, I’ll whip up two eggs for lunch and just eat it out of a bowl with a spoon. At the weekend, I (or my partner) will cook up a load and serve it with fresh french bread, often accompanied by bacon, smoked salmon, or slices of pastel-green avocado.

Of course, I know there are many of you out there for whom eggs are strictly off the menu, so I’ll take no offence if you’ve already decided this post isn’t for you. But, for those of you who just can’t envision a life without these treasures, then you’ll be all too well-aware of the joys of dark orange yolks and, on those rare occasions, discovering a double-yolker. Those kinds of thrills, I swear, have deeply primitive roots. 

So, for those of you in the latter category, I would urge you - if you haven’t done so already - to reconsider the role of scrambled eggs in your menus, as a perfect stand-in or addition to almost any meal. Beyond the usual breakfast/brunch/lunch option, they go beautifully with fish, sushi, rice dishes, stir-fried vegetables, and falafel, for instance. Which brings me to the crux of this ramble: I have listed several variations to the classic scrambled egg recipe below to demonstrate the versatility of the scrambled egg, and ultimately reassure you that it’s ok to seek its refuge anytime you want to.

Oh, and regarding how I scramble my eggs: I first roughly fork them in a bowl with seasoning (I add salt and pepper, bearing in mind the saltiness/pepperiness of any additions). Using a small saucepan, I melt a generous amount of butter and, pouring in the eggs, slowly and constantly fold them over each other with a rubber spatula over a gentle heat. I like my eggs quite wet (especially as they tend to keep cooking in the residual heat) so I take them off the hob before they’re completely cooked through.

• A classic: before frying, whip up the eggs in a bowl briefly with chopped spring onions or chives.

• Another classic: fry up some pancetta, cubes of chorizo, or sliced bacon before adding the eggs. No need to add butter; the pork should expel enough fat for everyone.

• At the end of frying, while it’s still a little on the wet side, add feta, grated parmesan, or blue cheese. If adding blue cheese, make sure it's room temperature and not straight from the fridge otherwise it’ll make the eggs go cold. For a recipe on  scrambled eggs with parmesan, see: A Welcome Interlude: Toast, Three Ways.

• If serving a bowl of scrambled eggs, consider adorning it with some torn pieces of sushi nori. 

• Add bite-sized pieces of stir-fried vegetables such as peppers, red onions, cherry tomatoes, or courgette.

• A personal favourite: fry sage leaves gently in butter, flipping halfway through, before leaving to cool on some kitchen paper. They’ll crisp up beautifully. Now add to your scrambled eggs (or any kind of eggs, to be honest).

• For green eggs, chop up a selection of fresh herbs and add to the eggs before frying.

Treat this list as mere humble suggestions for how to tart up your eggs. I invite any other recommendations and indeed encourage them, so feel free to comment down below! I don’t know about you, but for me scramblers are an OG 😎.