The Herb That Makes Scrambled Eggs Taste Like A $12 Brunch Dish

Dining out is getting more and more expensive these days. Even going out to breakfast, which is normally one of the more affordable meals to eat out, can feel unaffordable in the current climate. We have great tips for hosting an affordable brunch if you feel like entertaining on a weekend morning, but for those who still want to feel a bit fancy on a Saturday morning when eating at home, you don't have to pull out all the stops to make a simple egg dish restaurant-quality. All it takes to elevate your scrambled eggs is a single herb: chives. 

As a professional chef, the mention of chives prompts scary flashbacks of my old sous chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant constantly asking me, "Do you have any nicer chives?" (the answer, unfortunately for me, was always "no, sorry chef"). But outside of high-pressure fine-dining kitchens, chives are a joy to use. Not to be confused with scallions or green onions, chives are alliums, meaning they are in the same family as garlic and onions. They have a mild, slightly oniony taste but are the least intense of the allium family, especially when eaten raw. Chives resemble hollow, thin blades of tall grass, and are usually sliced into thin rounds to be used as a garnish in many types of dishes. One popular use of chives is to sprinkle them on top of potatoes that are dolloped with crème fraîche or sour cream, as they bring a bright and herbaceous contrast with notes of vegetal freshness. But adding them to scrambled eggs is one of the easiest ways to gussy up a plain breakfast dish. 

Chives are one of the main herbs you need for a classic French fine herbes omelet, but you don't need all four herbs to make your morning eggs feel fancy. You can whip sliced chives directly into the raw eggs before scrambling them, or simply garnish the finished eggs with fresh chives after you've slid the eggs onto a plate or on top of a slice of sourdough pan-toasted in salted butter. Either way, topping the eggs with a sprinkling of flaky salt and freshly cracked black pepper will also make your eggs feel restaurant-worthy. It's small and simple touches like these that are commonplace in restaurants that most home cooks people overlook.

Cooking eggs properly is another way to make them feel more luxurious at home. Use a bit more salted butter than you think is appropriate, and then start cooking scrambled eggs from the outer edges of a non-stick pan. This technique allows for a more tender and creamier texture. If you're looking for more ways to make a home-cooked breakfast feel more decadent, adding a few dollops of goat cheese to the scrambled eggs with chives lends tangy flavor notes and a creamy, silky texture to the herb-spotted eggs.