Scrambled Eggs with Almond Romesco, Bucheron Cheese, and Tomato Confit Toast Recipe

Scrambled Eggs with Almond Romesco, Bucheron Cheese, and Tomato Confit Toast

• Difficulty: Easy
• Servings: 4
• Nutritional Breakdown (per serving): Calories 1167, Total Fat 90 g, Saturated Fat 27 g, Carbohydrates 56 g, Dietary Fiber 11 g, Sugar 20 g, Protein 41 g, Cholesterol 639 mg, Sodium 1469 mg
• Total Time: 1 hr 10 min
• Active Time: 30 min

This is, without a doubt, my most popular egg recipe both in my restaurants and personally. I like to serve it as a starter for dinner or as a light snack during aperitivo. The secret lies in preparing everything before cooking the eggs. Ensure the romesco sauce is ready, the cheese crumbled, the tomato confit spread on the toast, and the chives finely sliced. When ready to cook, scramble the eggs starting with a cold pan, add butter, then the eggs mixed with crme frache, and cook gently until the texture is creamy and custard-like. It's crucial to remove the eggs from heat just before they overcooktiming is key.

• Difficulty: Easy
• Servings: 4
• Nutritional Breakdown (per serving): Calories 1167, Total Fat 90 g, Saturated Fat 27 g, Carbohydrates 56 g, Dietary Fiber 11 g, Sugar 20 g, Protein 41 g, Cholesterol 639 mg, Sodium 1469 mg
• Total Time: 1 hr 10 min
• Active Time: 30 min

Tomato Confit Toast:

• cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Four slices (1-inch thick) from a large ciabatta loaf

Scrambled Eggs:

• 4 tablespoons ( stick) unsalted butter
• 12 large eggs, beaten with a fork
• cup crme frache
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 ounces Bucheron cheese, rind removed and crumbled into -inch chunks, at room temperature
• 3 heaping tablespoons Romesco sauce (recipe below)
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped

Romesco Sauce:

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, chopped, and patted dry
• cup Marcona almonds
• cup golden raisins, soaked in water then drained
• 2 dried ancho chiles, soaked in hot water, drained, stemmed, and seeded
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 teaspoons harissa paste
• 2 teaspoons Calabrian chile paste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Prepare the tomato confit toast: Preheat the oven to 325F. In a small baking dish, mix cup of olive oil, cherry tomatoes, thyme, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Roast, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes become soft and flavors intensify, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse a few times to break the tomatoes down slightly while keeping some chunkiness. Taste and adjust seasoning. Place in a bowl and set aside. (The tomato confit keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.)
2. Grill the toast: Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the ciabatta slices with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Grill until the bottoms are lightly charred, about 3 minutes, then flip and grill the opposite side for roughly 2 minutes. Spread tomato confit over the warm toast and hold until serving.
3. Make the scrambled eggs: In a large nonstick pan, melt butter on medium heat. Add beaten eggs, crme frache, salt, and pepper. Stir constantly until soft curds form, around 8 minutes. Just before removing from heat, when eggs are still creamy and slightly loose, gently fold in dollops of Bucheron cheese and let it melt for about 3 minutes. Next, gently fold in the romesco sauce, letting it swirl through the eggs. Remove from heat immediately.
4. Plate the eggs, adding one slice of tomato confit toast per serving. Garnish both eggs and toast with chopped chives and serve.

Romesco Sauce Preparation:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saut pan over medium-high heat. Add roasted peppers and cook until edges begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer peppers to a food processor bowl.
2. In the same pan, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toast almonds until golden, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, add almonds to the food processor.
3. Add a splash more oil to the pan and cook the raisins until warmed and slightly browned, then add to the processor. Repeat this process for the soaked ancho chiles, then for the chopped plum tomatoes, and lastly the garlic cloves, adding each sauted ingredient to the food processor.
4. Add red wine vinegar, honey, harissa paste, and Calabrian chile paste. Process everything until smooth, aiming for a creamy texture similar to hummus. If the mixture seems too thick or chunky, add extra olive oil to loosen it. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Store the romesco in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months.

Roasting Red Bell Peppers for Romesco:

On a stovetop burner set to medium-high, place the peppers directly on the grate. Turn them periodically until all sides are charred and softened, about 12 minutes. Remove the peppers, put them in a covered medium bowl, and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Peel off the skin using a clean kitchen towel, remove stems and seeds. Keep the prepared peppers in an airtight container refrigerated for up to a week.

Adapted from "Bobby Flay: Chapter One" by Bobby Flay with Emily Timberlake 2024 by Boy Meets Grill. Photography by Johnny Miller. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.