Bobby Flay's Italian Take On The Classic BEC Features Prosciutto And Focaccia
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Ah, the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. That classic breakfast sandwich we all know so well. The New York staple that you can find at any corner of the city. It's quick, it's salty, and it's filling. It's the sandwich to satiate any hungry person on the go, quell any hangover, and ensure any day starts off in a perfect medley of greasy and delicious.
Whether you prefer American or cheddar cheese, scrambled or fried eggs, bagel or deli roll, there's a BEC sandwich out there for everyone. And whether it's a New York deli, a McDonald's, a Starbucks, or simply your favorite neighborhood brunch spot — it seems that today, everyone's got their own version of this classic. Indeed, even accomplished celebrity chef Bobby Flay has his own twist on this tried and true classic breakfast dish.
If Bobby Flay knows anything, he certainly knows breakfast. He is, after all, the host of the Food Network cooking show "Brunch @ Bobby's", a name which also served as the title of his 2015 book that featured 140 different recipes for breakfast meals (via Amazon). So let's find out how he's upgrading the classic New York sandwich with an Italian twist of prosciutto, soft scrambled eggs, and focaccia bread.
It's time for some brunch at Bobby's.
How to make Bobby Flay's scrambled eggs with prosciutto and focaccia
At first glance, Bobby Flay's recipe doesn't exactly sound like a BEC. In fact, he calls it Scrambled Eggs with Prosciutto and Focaccia, and refers to it as a panini. But we all know that deep down, it's his fancy Italian-inspired version of a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. So how does Bobby's breakfast sandwich come together?
He shows us exactly how in an Instagram video with Food Network. First, he fries up some thin slices of prosciutto in hot oil, then removes them from the pan and lets them sit to get nice and crispy. Then, it's time for the main event of the sandwich: the cheesy, creamy soft scrambled eggs. Flay whisks them until they're a uniform color and adds pepper (but not salt — yet). He explains that he doesn't add salt until the end because he wants "the curds of the scrambled eggs to be really silky, and sometimes salt can make them a touch grainy."
To a cold pan, he adds creme fraiche and butter, and then pours the eggs on top. He turns the heat on and continually stirs the eggs, being careful not to overcook them. Once they're done, he adds salt and some parmigiano reggiano. He tops a slice of homemade focaccia bread with the silky eggs, followed by a piece of crispy prosciutto, some more pepper, and another piece of bread. And there you have it: BEC, Italian-style.
The history of the breakfast sandwich we know today
A breakfast sandwich is something most of us take for granted, but it didn't always exist. Whether it's a classic bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich or an alternative take like Bobby Flay's, this sandwich is now an American staple. It's for this reason that it may surprise readers to learn this breakfast sandwich didn't actually originate in America.
According to HuffPost, this on-the-go breakfast came into being over the pond in London, back in the 19th century. Apparently, factory workers needed a quick meal that they could grab and eat on their way to work every day, so street vendors started selling what were originally called "bap" sandwiches. Bap refers to the soft white buns that the egg and meat sandwiches were served on.
Born out of a necessary convenience for blue-collar workers, the breakfast sandwich made its way to America and continued to grow in popularity — with the first known recipe appearing in a cookbook in 1897. Eventually, the American fast food industry made it what it is today: that quick, greasy, delicious breakfast sandwich that we can't imagine living without.