Chilli Scrambled Eggs with Goat's Cheese, Coriander and Tomato
Now I understand all the fuss about chilli scrambled eggs….so good!
Whilst my days of hanging out at cafe's eating long lazy breakfasts have longs gone (thanks kids!), I am aware that there has been a big craze at cafe's for chilli scrambled eggs. I don't think it has quite taken over smashed avocado in popularity, but you will find a version of chilli eggs on most cafe menus these days. I didn't really get it, what's so amazing about eggs with chilli? I feel the same about smashed avo but thats a topic for another day!
Well, I officially eat my words! Chilli scrambled eggs is freakin delicious! So simple, yet so good. I think the key was finding the right chilli sauce. I tried it with a Mexican style chilli and sriracha but neither did it for me. It needed something more. And that “something more” turned out to be sweetness! Enter chilli jam. The sweetness and stickiness of the jam compliments the heat of the chilli, the earthy richness of the goats cheese and the freshness of the coriander and tomato perfectly. I'm seriously in love......
It's also pretty quick and easy to prepare. Make up a big batch of the chilli and then you can have a delicious breakfast ready in under 10 minutes. It also makes a yummy breakfast (or lunch!) wrap - just add some avocado and spinach and give it a quick grill.
Testing out this recipe has totally revived my interest in all things breakfast. I've never been that big on breakfast (apart from coffee of course!). I love a good breakfast out at a cafe, but the options at home always seem to boring. I really just can't get that excited about toast or cereal. But I forgot just how easy it is to make good scrambled eggs. And I how much I love them. So easy, so good.
I have also been working on a vegan scrambled “eggs” for a while now and think the chilli combo will go perfectly. So watch this space, as soon as I perfect the recipe I'll let you know!
Chilli Scrambled Eggs with Goat's Cheese, Coriander and Tomato
Prep time: 15 minutes plus an extra 30 minutes to make the chilli jam
Makes: 1 serve (very easy to double, triple etc)
Dietary Guide: The recipe is gluten free if using Gf bread. To make it FODMAP friendly, make sure your use sour dough bread, omit the garlic from the chilli jam and use green spring onion instead of shallots.
Ingredients
2 large free range eggs
1 scant tablespoon of cream (or milk)
1 teaspoon of chopped chives
1 teaspoon of finely chopped golden shallot (or 1 spring onion stem chopped)
¼ cup of lightly packed coriander leaves
6 cherry tomatoes*
50g of goats cheese marinated in oil or a creamy feta
3 teaspoon of olive oil
2 teaspoon of butter
2 slices of sour dough bread
For the Chilli jam
5 long red chilli's (de-seeded if you want it milder)
2 large ripe tomatoes (about 220g)
1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
1 teaspoon of finely grated ginger
2 teaspoons of white wine or apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
A good pinch of salt
Optional extras
Sliced fresh chilli
Additional goat's cheese for garnish
Avocado
Wilted or fresh baby spinach
A lime wedge
Golden fried shallots or fresh sliced shallots
*This dish also works really well with roasted baby tomatoes. To roast the tomatoes, preheat the oven to 150°. Place the tomatoes (sliced in half), a sprinkle of sugar, a dash of olive oil and salt and pepper in a baking tray, gently toss and roast for about 1 hour or until starting to split and shrivel a little.
Instructions
First make the chilli jam. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and blanch the tomatoes for 10 seconds in the hot water, drain and transfer the tomatoes to a bowl of cold water. Peel the tomatoes – the blanching process should make the skin easy to peel off. (You can skip this step if you don't mind tomato skin in your chilli jam). Place the peeled tomatoes, chilli, garlic and ginger back into the small saucepan. Using a bar mix, whizz until very finely chopped (add a little water if needed to make the mix easier to whizz). Add the sugar, vinegar, salt and 1 cup of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes or until most of the moisture has evaporated and the sauce has a jam like consistency. Set aside until needed.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, chives, shallots and a good pinch of salt. Roughly crumble the goat's cheese over the top of the eggs but don't mix any more.
Heat a frypan over low-medium heat. Spread a thin layer of the chilli jam over one side of each piece of bread. Pour 2 teaspoon of the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the butter into the fry pan. As soon as the butter has melted, place the bread chilli side down into the fry pan. Cook for a few minute on each side.
Whilst you are cooking the bread, re-heat the chilli jam if needed.
When the bread is ready – it should go all nice and golden and crunchy, transfer to a serving plate. Wipe the frypan clean and return to the stove on a low heat.
Melt the remaining teaspoon of butter and teaspoon of oil in the frypan and pour in the egg mix. As soon as the eggs hit the pan, start slowly swirling the eggs with a silicone spatula (or wooden spoon) -the idea is to form small curds. You don't want to mix too slowly or large curds will form, but too fast and you will have a lumpy mess. It's important not to leave the eggs for second – they need your full attention! It should take less than a minute to cook the eggs for a single serve. When they are almost cooked (they will continue to cook so you want them a tiny bit underdone) transfer to the serving plate with the toast. Top with the chilli jam, fresh or roasted baby tomatoes, coriander and any additional extras you desire. Enjoy!
