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For luxury that’s worth the wait

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Times Staff Writer

A couple of eggs can save the day. When you’re at a loss over what to make, just crack, beat, scramble and you’ve got a meal pronto.

But hold on a minute.

In fact, hold on a few minutes.

If you slow things down a bit, you can turn scrambled eggs into something spectacular: Cooked very slowly, and stirred constantly, scrambled eggs can be a dish that’s creamy, rich and luxurious enough to serve as a first course at an elegant dinner.

Try it once, and you may never do the quick scramble again. Try it twice, and you’ll never fret again about a brunch menu.

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The trick to the magical transformation of the slow scramble is simple enough: Lower the fire and stir with a patient hand.

Just remember that a beaten egg behaves differently at different temperatures. Cook it over high heat and the egg’s protein bonds seize up and tighten quickly, squeezing out the moisture as the egg cooks. You’ll end up with large, tough curds.

But switch to gentler heat and the protein bonds stay more relaxed as the egg cooks. You get divinely tender curds; the constant stirring keeps them tiny.

Be sure to use the best and freshest eggs possible. Look for them at farmers markets, if you can; sometimes stalls will even have araucanas (they’re the ones with blue-green shells) -- their flavor is extraordinary. At supermarkets, buy organic ones.

The eggs can be at room temperature or straight from the fridge, but cold eggs will mean a slower slow-scramble. (Slow-scrambled eggs take at least 10 minutes and up to 25 minutes, depending on the temperature of the eggs, the pan and even your kitchen.)

To get started, break a few eggs into a bowl, season with salt and pepper, and add a little bit of fat (such as butter, oil or creme fraiche). Whisk the mixture to blend completely.

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Then place butter or oil in a nonstick skillet over low heat. Once the butter has melted, the pan is ready for the eggs. Pour them in, making sure the heat is at the lowest possible setting. Immediately begin stirring; you’ll be doing this constantly, with just a few pauses, varying your strokes to prevent large curds from forming.

In the first few minutes, it might seem as if not much is happening. But the eggs are actually thickening slowly. Curds will soon begin to form; they should be small, like cottage cheese curds. A few large ones may develop but will break up as you continue stirring.

Once you have a panful of curds that are still just a little glossy, take the eggs off the heat so they don’t overcook. Continue to stir for a minute or so. The eggs will lose a little more of their shine, but should still be moist and creamy when you serve them.

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Turn down the heat

THE most important thing throughout is to avoid overheating. Judy Rodgers, author of “The Zuni Cafe Cookbook,” likes to add cold butter bit by bit as she’s stirring the eggs. Butter adds richness, of course, but Rodgers points out that it “keeps the eggs from getting too hot and makes it homogenous and creamy.”

Rodgers also grates into the eggs a little bottarga (dried tuna roe that has been salted and pressed) and rubs her wooden spoon with garlic, infusing flavor as she stirs.

You could also match the luxury of slow-scrambled eggs with another luxury: truffles. Cookbook author Paula Wolfert adds a diced black truffle and a splash of cream to the eggs before cooking.

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“I find that the way to get really moist and creamy scrambled eggs is to prepare them in a double boiler or in an earthen bowl set over simmering water,” says Wolfert. “The double boiler is narrow so there is less of a chance of creating a lot of curds,” making the eggs creamier.

Keep the water in the bottom chamber at a low simmer, and don’t let it boil. If you find the pan is overheating, though, you can do one of two things: Add a drop of water or cream to the eggs while you’re stirring, or lift the pot away from the simmering water to cool things down a bit, Wolfert says.

And don’t be shy about stirring, she adds. Run the wooden spoon around the edges, move it in circles, do figure eights; you don’t want to miss any spots and end up with large clumps.

She tops each serving with a thin slice of black truffle for her oeufs brouilles aux truffes (truffled scrambled eggs).

But even with simpler accompaniments, slow-scrambled eggs are fabulous. Spread the eggs on toasted slices of rustic bread, for example, and top with a slice of prosciutto.

Or add fresh herbs, as chef David Lentz does for his Tweety scramble at Hungry Cat in Hollywood. Lentz stirs in creme fraiche and Jack cheese to his slow-scrambled eggs, then balances the richness with chives, Italian parsley and chervil. He tops the eggs with a salad made with more herbs and a little lemon vinaigrette.

The beauty of slow-scrambled eggs is that you don’t need fancy ingredients to make a luxurious dish. And once you’ve made them part of your repertoire, eggs won’t just save the day. They’ll make your day.

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Slow-cooked scrambled eggs with bottarga

Total time: 15 to 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: From “The Zuni Cafe Cookbook” by Judy Rodgers. Bottarga di tonno (salted, pressed dried tuna roe) is available at Surfas in Culver City.

3 to 4 tablespoons cold

unsalted butter, divided

8 eggs, at room temperature

A small chunk of bottarga

(about 2 teaspoons grated, or to taste)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, peeled

1. Cut the butter into little slivers. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat with about 1 tablespoon of the slivered butter, grated bottarga to taste, and the salt.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 9-inch nonstick skillet. Add the eggs and cook over the lowest possible heat.

3. Rub the bowl of a wooden spoon front and back with the garlic and use this to stir the eggs almost constantly while you incorporate the remaining butter sliver by sliver, taking 10 to 20 minutes.

4. If the eggs begin to set in folds, the heat is too high or you aren’t stirring enough. Use a heat diffuser. If you can’t keep the heat low enough, remove the pan from the heat for 10 seconds at a time to control the cooking. As they first begin to heat through, the beaten eggs will look somewhat like buttermilk -- heavy with occasional flecks of curd. Gradually they will thicken and the curds will proliferate. The eggs will keep cooking off the heat, so remove the pan from the burner while they are still quite soft and stir for another minute. The finished mixture should be slightly curdy, like creamy cottage cheese.

5. Serve a few neat spoonfuls per person, flanked with warm, dry toast and a small salad.

Each serving: 239 calories; 13 grams protein; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 20 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 457 mg. cholesterol; 161 mg. sodium.

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Slow-scrambled eggs with prosciutto

Total time: 20 to 30 minutes

Servings: 4

4 slices rustic bread, about

1/2 inch thick

1 tablespoon clarified butter or olive oil

1 clove garlic, cut in half

6 eggs, at room temperature

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch of white pepper

4 slices prosciutto

di Parma

1. Brush the bread slices with clarified butter or olive oil. Toast the bread in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned on both sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Rub each slice with the cut garlic clove and set aside.

2. Whisk together the eggs, 1 tablespoon butter cut into small pieces, the salt and white pepper.

3. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a 9-inch nonstick skillet over low heat. Add the eggs and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to set on the bottom, about 2 minutes.

4. Continue to cook, stirring almost constantly, until the eggs become creamy, with a texture resembling small-curd cottage cheese. Continue cooking and stirring until they begin to thicken and become less glossy but are not quite done, 8 to 15 minutes.

5. Remove the eggs from the heat and stir for about a minute to finish the cooking. They should be very creamy, with very small curds.

6. Divide the eggs onto the toasted bread and spread over each slice. Top each serving with a slice of prosciutto.

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Each serving: 273 calories; 15 grams protein; 11 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 19 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 353 mg. cholesterol; 640 mg. sodium.

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Tweety scramble

Total time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4 to 6

Note: From David Lentz of Hungry Cat

2 cups mixed herbs of equal parts chives, cut into 1-inch pieces, Italian parsley leaves and chervil leaves

1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus additional for finishing

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt, divided

White pepper, divided

12 eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup creme fraiche, divided

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup grated Jack cheese

1. Chop 1 cup of the herbs and set aside.

2. Toss the remaining cup of whole herbs with 1 teaspoon olive oil, one-half teaspoon lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to garnish the finished eggs.

3. Whisk together the eggs and one-fourth cup creme fraiche, three-fourths teaspoon salt and one-eighth teaspoon pepper.

4. Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter over medium heat. After the butter melts, add the eggs. Reduce the heat to low. Use a wooden spoon to stir the eggs in a clockwise direction.

5. When the eggs are cooked three-quarters of the way through with curds forming, stir in the Jack cheese. Continue to cook and stir the eggs until they are still moist with some liquid. Just before they have finished cooking, stir in the chopped herbs. Continue to cook, stirring constantly until they are very creamy and almost cooked, about 15 to 18 minutes total cooking time. Remove the eggs from the heat during the last minute of cooking and stir until they are done.

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6. Divide the eggs among the serving dishes. Top each with a dollop of creme fraiche and garnish with the herb salad and a drizzle of olive oil to finish. Serve with home fries and grilled toast.

Each of 6 servings: 254 calories; 15 grams protein; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 20 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 446 mg. cholesterol; 372 mg. sodium.

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