Mark Bittman 
Mark Bittman writes the Minimalist column each week.
I had the good luck to be at an herb garden this weekend.
Actually it was the house of a couple of friends, but my eyes did bulge when I got there and saw sage, parsley, tarragon, lavender, chives, oregano and more actually growing out of the ground. This was not new to me, of course: I used to be a gardener. But as a city-dweller with barely a windowsill, it was pretty exciting.
And it did change the way I cooked. Potatoes got a parsley-garlic-oil bath (as they did when I was in Florida), and chicken was grilled with sage. (There was a plan to grill lamb with rosemary, lavender and thyme, one of my personal favorites and a rare dish because lavender isn’t easy to come by, but in this instance it was the lamb we couldn’t find; you might look at the variation in this older Minimalist column.)
The real treat, though, was yesterday morning, when I offered to scramble eggs for 10 or 12 people (actually I think the real number was 11, but I do know I did four batches, of six eggs each). I started in the garden, picking tarragon, snipping chives, wishing I had not used all the parsley the night before, and adding a few leaves of basil. These I chopped, adding a handful to each batch of eggs.
For this dish, you need herbs, and butter, and technique. I know of two good ways to scramble eggs. The first, which I learned from James Beard, is slow: you cook them over very low heat, stirring frequently, breaking up the curds as they form. This takes about 40 minutes per batch, which means four batches would have taken me just under three hours. No.
The second, which I learned from Jean-Georges Vongerichten, takes five minutes per batch, and is almost as good. You might try each.
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 eggs
- 1 or 2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A small handful of mixed herbs
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk, cream, lemon juice or water (optional)
Method
- 1. Beat the eggs lightly and combine in a medium skillet, preferably non-stick, with the remaining ingredients. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently and scraping the sides of the pan (a heat-proof rubber spatula is a good tool here).
- 2. As the eggs begin to curdle, you may notice that some parts are drying out; whenever you see that, remove the pan from the heat and continue to stir until the cooking slows down a bit. Then return to the heat and continue cooking. The eggs are done when creamy, soft, and still a bit runny; do not overcook unless, of course, you intend to. Serve immediately.
Source: Adapted from "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 eggs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons cream
- A small handful of mixed herbs
- 2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
Method
- 1. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them, just until the yolks and whites are combined. Season with salt and pepper and beat in the cream.
- 2. Put a medium skillet, preferably non-stick, over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add the butter or oil and swirl it around the pan. After the butter melts, but before it foams, turn the heat to low.
- 3. Add the eggs to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. At first nothing will happen; after 10 minutes or so, the eggs will begin to form curds. Do not lose patience: Keep stirring, breaking up the curds as they form, until the mixture is a mass of soft curds. This will take 30 minutes or more. Serve immediately.
Source: Adapted from "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman