flipButtered scrambled eggs of the hurried painter
Buttered scrambled eggs of the hurried painter
Why this dish? In her *Memoirs*, Vigée Le Brun confides that absorbed by her work she often ate little and late. Buttered scrambled eggs, ready in an instant, are the very type of frugal meal that an artist caught up in her canvas could swallow without leaving her easel for long.
Melting eggs mounted with fine butter, barely set, lifted with a pinch of salt and fines herbes: the elegant simplicity of a work snack, far from the pomp of suppers.
When the portrait kept me busy, I assure you I little thought of dining! They brought me to my easel a few eggs beaten with fresh butter, which I swallowed in haste without putting down my brush. They must be taken off the fire very soft, melting like cream — never hard, that's the whole secret. A pinch of salt, a sprig of chervil, and I returned to my canvas, my mind clearer than my belly full.
- •Fresh eggs — three or four (base)
- •Fine butter — a good knob (creaminess)
- •Fines herbes (chervil, chives) — a sprig (flavor)
- •Salt — a pinch (seasoning)
Buttered scrambled eggs of the hurried painter
Melting eggs mounted with fine butter, barely set, lifted with a pinch of salt and fines herbes: the elegant simplicity of a work snack, far from the pomp of suppers.
Why this dish? In her *Memoirs*, Vigée Le Brun confides that absorbed by her work she often ate little and late. Buttered scrambled eggs, ready in an instant, are the very type of frugal meal that an artist caught up in her canvas could swallow without leaving her easel for long.
When the portrait kept me busy, I assure you I little thought of dining! They brought me to my easel a few eggs beaten with fresh butter, which I swallowed in haste without putting down my brush. They must be taken off the fire very soft, melting like cream — never hard, that's the whole secret. A pinch of salt, a sprig of chervil, and I returned to my canvas, my mind clearer than my belly full.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh eggs — three or four (base)
- Fine butter — a good knob (creaminess)
- Fines herbes (chervil, chives) — a sprig (flavor)
- Salt — a pinch (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Eggs — 4 (base)
- Butter — 30 g (creaminess)
- Chopped chervil and chives — 1 tbsp (flavor)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Beat the eggs with a fork, lightly salt.
- Melt the butter over low heat in a saucepan without letting it brown.
- Pour in the eggs and stir constantly with a wooden spoon over very low heat.
- Remove from heat as soon as they are creamy and still shiny (they finish setting off the heat).
- Sprinkle with fines herbes and enjoy immediately, with the tip of a brush if in a hurry.
How it was made : In the 18th century, eggs were a domestic everyday dish, and books like Menon's *La Cuisinière bourgeoise* (1746) give many preparations. Gently cooked in butter, they offered a quick and nourishing meal — the period equivalent of a quick snack.
The contemporary twist : Serve them in a giant porcelain eggshell or on golden toast, with a dash of cream for softness, "studio eggs" style.
Sources : Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, *Souvenirs* (1835–1837) · Menon, *La Cuisinière bourgeoise* (1746)
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun · Charactorium
