One thing I have learned in the US is that scrambled egg are pretty boring. I know I can still go with an omelet, but many people are scared to prepared it because of an extra involvement to keep it intact and beautiful. Scrambled eggs are classic. Kids in my part of the world (well, the ones who like to cook) learn to make them right after they learn how to make tea. This was my case too. My parents were working, so when I came home from school and there was a boring lunch, I just scrambled myself some eggs.
Scrambled eggs were for me the ultimate cooking experiment – I have tried them so many ways. One of the first meals I made for my wife were scrambled eggs “valcs style” (valcs is my old nickname). And from time to time, she requests it again. That, however, is a recipe for another time. I thought that after our long break, we should start up with something simple. I found out that in the US it is still possible to find a good honest bacon, which is a basis for this Hungarian style recipe.
Hungarian Style Scrambled Eggs
There is no exact recipe for this. It is more a rundown of ingredients and the ratio that I like best. In the summer I used to add one pepper and one tomato 3 minutes before I added the eggs. If you don’t like bacon (if there are such people) you can skip it and add just a plain vegetable oil. If you are scared of bacon for health reasons, try to add just a tiny bit. And if you don’t eat bacon for health or religious reasons, then instead of 1/2 tsp of red paprika use 1 tsp of Spanish smoked paprika. Serve it with really good fresh bread.
Ingredients
This is a 1 person recipe. Multiply it as you wish.
- 1 onion
- 1 strip of REAL bacon
- 3 eggs
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp marjoram
- 1/2 tsp red paprika
Method
- Roughly chop the bacon and start to fry it on a medium high temperature and render some fat.
- Add the onions, salt them and cook them until they are caramelized
- Add the red paprika, stir and add the eggs.
- As soon as I add the eggs I remove the skillet from the heat and let the eggs cook off the heat source. Usually this provides you with creamy but well-cooked eggs.
12 Responses
I don’t like scrambled eggs (personal preference). But my mum makes it with mushrooms and my boyfriend loves it. Maybe in California people don’t know scrambled eggs, but in New York there are some experts: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/05/scrambled-egg-toast/
I am looking for some help. My mother used to make a Hungarian dish with eggs, onions, green peppers but can’t remember other ingredients. I believe she called it something like lieber lunchut (don’t know correct spelling) made in skillet on top of stove like frittata. Can you help?
Michael,… and tomatoes 🙂 … It is called “Lecsó” (letcho) and it is a Hungarian classic. If you add eggs it is called “tojásos lecsó” (letcho with eggs). Most Hungarian stews – Halászlé (Fish soup) Gulyás, Paprikás, Pörkölt etc start with kind of Lecsó then you build a meaty part into it.
You might want to clarify what “real bacon” is. 🙂
katka, all respect to smittten kitchen, but do you see the difference between our/your mums eggs and smitten kitchen? everybody can put eggs into a pan and move the spatula. but master the right flavors and put the eggs into the second level, where taste buds have their own dance, that can be done only by your mum and emperorscrumbs.com . the thing is. they know what scrambled eggs are, but they don’t know what good scrambled eggs are. 🙂
katie, oh yes I think I should have clarify it. the problem of central European bacon is that it is over processed. So packages marked as bacon are not bacon but wet blobs of fatty meat and some kind of salty liquid. When you try to cook with that blob it does not fry as a bacon. It does not render fat, so you don’t get the smoky flavor. It behaves on the pan as a teenager with extra hormones. Just spitting hot juices to your face, hurting your body and taste buds.
Now here I discovered some good stuff. It is always much more expensive as the “bad bacon” but it is worth it. I use just tiny bit of it and the meal tastes amazing. Thanks to the apple wood smoking process. I usually get the Niman Ranch Bacon or the Trader Joe’s brand. Both of them I buy at Trader Joe’s simply because Niman Ranch cost at TJ 3.99 and other places 6.99 or I hve seen it also for 7.99. So it is a huge difference. I hope this clarifies it. BTW I have Magyar krumplis kenyer in the owen :). If it turns out ok I post it on the blog.
I salt them only at the end and like the salt “cracking” while eating. Not too much salt though. I like my scrambled eggs “medium”, my wife “well done”. we use often mushrooms/onions/both, but never use red paprika. Sometimes I use bacon (the fatty smoked type like the one you use with halusky), sometimes butter, but most of the time just plain oil.
Simple hagymás rántotta (onion omlette) is wow … the skill is in the cooking … more oil than healthy, unless you make it with a neutral cold pressed olive oil, perfectly sauteed onions, and leaving the egg semi set in shreds …
Stayed in a hotel in Budapest last two visits as my aunt’s flat was overflowing with guests … breakfast highlight was the plain rántotta sprinkled with paprika (but never used for cooking the egg !).
sounds awesome…. yes most of the rantotta at home is simply bacon onion and eggs. add salt and Majorana and it is divine!
I’m vegan, though I have some paprika from my last trip to Hungary on the shelf so was inspired to try. In place of bacon I used FieldRoast Breakfast Sausage, sliced medallion style, in avocado oil. Followed the rest of the recipe more or less the same, and in place of eggs used Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg – you wind up with an eggy smelling liquid that scrambles and cooks up like an egg. It turned out pretty awesome.
sounds really delish 🙂
I had this dish for breakfast this morning. It is the most delicious flavor combination on earth 🙂
allll the way back from childhood, it has been my most wonder-filled breakfast!
I just use bacon, onion, cubed mushrooms – cook slowly until JUST golden brown, add 3 slightly beaten eggs, turn over a couple of times, on MED heat. The eggs should not turn brown, at all. Easy, and so good!