Jacques Pépin Revamps Scrambled Eggs With This Crunchy Topping

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A classic serving of scrambled eggs makes a quick and filling breakfast. However, if you're itching to add a little pizazz to your morning meal, consider revamping your eggs with a crunchy topping in the style of French chef Jacques Pépin. The cookbook author bedecks his oeufs brouillés with a scattering of croutons, transforming them into a fancier dish that can moonlight as a light lunch.

Pepin details his recipe in his cookbook "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home" and in an accompanying episode of the companion TV show of the same name. The French chef adds his beaten eggs to a hot pan with melted butter before continuously moving them around with a balloon whisk. This method prevents those large curds from forming that can quickly turn a serving of soft scrambled eggs into a dense and rubbery mass. Instead, the eggs come out soft, smooth, and almost custardy (courtesy of a splash of cream), which is why they pair so well with the crunch of a few well-placed croutons. 

Pépin surrounds his scrambled eggs with some sauteed tomatoes and scatters the croutons around their circumference so they retain their crisp texture. These baked cubes of bread provide a wonderful contrast against the silky softness of the egg and give the final dish some welcome bite and body.

While plain, store-bought croutons are easy to get hold of at the grocery store, making your own crispy cubes allows you to get creative with additional flavors, such as garlic powder, herbs, or even cheese. That said, the flavor of your croutons should complement the mild taste of the scrambled eggs rather than mask it with overpowering seasonings (it's the crunch that's paramount). Alternatively, if you want to recreate the textural profile of Pépin's recipe but don't have the urge to prep your own croutons, you can sub them for tortilla chips or potato chips in a pinch. That way, you still get that combination of soft and buttery scrambled eggs against the crunch of the carby chips.

Some of the other unexpected additions to scrambled eggs that are worth trying include orange zest, which lends the huevos a bright aroma and fresh flavor, or a green pesto that brings an herbaceous vibe to the breakfast table. However, if you prefer boiled eggs, Jacques Pépin had plenty of hacks for those, too. For example, the acclaimed chef's thumbtack hack for peeling hard-boiled eggs is to prick the egg through the shell prior to boiling. This technique relieves the pressure inside the egg and loosens it from the shell. Meanwhile, spinning it on the counter after boiling is Jacques Pépin's playful trick for checking an egg's doneness (a full-boiled egg spins all the way around, while a half-boiled egg merely wobbles).