Brunch

These knife-and-fork (not grab-and-go) egg tacos can be found on almost every breakfast menu in New Mexico and the southwestern United States, and throughout Mexico. They’re called huevos divorciados—“divorced eggs”—because the eggs are “separated” by their chile sauces, green spooned on one, red on the other. Chorizo or bacon is a nice addition. Two tortillas and two eggs make one serving.

If you are in a rush and don’t want to make the Ranchero Sauce, buy a jar of roasted red chile salsa, drain off the liquid, and use what remains. Scramble the eggs over low heat, turning them gently with a wooden spatula or spoon. If the eggs turn white while cooking, the pan is too hot. The chopped cilantro adds bursts of fresh green, herbaceous flavors. For a more robust and traditional finish, squeeze fresh lime juice on the eggs when they are almost finished cooking.

This is a very simple taco, common throughout Mexico, that I ate at whatever local market was nearby on almost all of my mornings there. It was always accompanied by copious amounts of orange juice freshly squeezed with a portable juicer at a neighboring street cart. They are a great way to start a day and one of my longtime favorites. Consider this recipe a tasty base for ingredients—whatever sounds good to you. Green chile powder is a nice addition, as is chipotle powder.

When poaching a large whole fish, place it in cool liquid first and then slowly bring the liquid to the proper temperature to result in an even texture inside and out. Adding the raw fish to hot liquid would cause the outside to overcook before the inside is cooked. Court Bouillon (page 231) is the traditional poaching liquid for seafood, imparting gentle flavors to the fish without being the least bit overpowering. For the prettiest presentation, remove the skin from the fish while it is still warm, as it will slip off more easily than when cold. A whole fish is always an impressive sight at the table, but even more so when poached and then wrapped in thin ribbons of cucumber, the plump pink fish in stark contrast to the bright-green ribbons.

Rosti is a favorite Swiss potato dish made with grated potatoes and, depending on the cooking technique (deep-frying, pan-frying or even baking), butter, oil, or a combination. It can be formed into one large cake, as in the recipe below, or shaped into smaller patties. The ideal rosti is crisp and light.

This is a good way to use tomatoes that are less than perfect, as the baking intensifies their flavor, and honey enhances their sweetness. They make lovely accompaniments to meat, chicken, or fish, or use them when steaming en papillote (see page 215). The tomatoes can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to three days.

The squash filling in the recipe can be replaced with virtually any precooked vegetables you like. You can also omit the goat cheese and sprinkle on more grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago, or use Gruyère cheese instead.

In this recipe, the eggs are paired with a heady sauté of shallots and morels—wild mushrooms prized in French cuisine for their distinctive taste and rarity (they grow largely in areas recently stricken with forest fires). They are in season during the spring months; substitute other wild mushrooms, such as oysters or chanterelles, if morels are unavailable.

Coddling, which in cooking terms means to heat food in water that is just below the boiling point, is a gentle steaming method that yields a tender egg. The traditional way to prepare and serve these eggs is in coddlers—special cups with tight lids that trap in steam when the cups are placed in a pan of simmering water. Buttering the coddlers and adding a bit of heavy cream impart richness. For a garnish, sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs, such as fines herbes (a mix of chives, chervil, parsley, and tarragon), finely diced red onion, or crumbled bacon. Soldiers (toasted bread cut into batons) are the traditional—and sole—accompaniment.

This three-egg omelet is strewn with fresh herbs for the simplest of fillings. See the variations below for other ideas. If you’d like an omelet with a bit more heft, add another egg.

The secret to light, fluffy scrambled eggs is to cook them over moderate heat and to move them fairly constantly; this will ensure that the eggs do not take on any color. Also, cook the eggs just until they form plump, soft curds with no more runny parts in the pan (the curds should appear slightly wet, not dry) and immediately remove them from pan, as they will continue cooking.

The secret to light, fluffy scrambled eggs is to cook them over moderate heat and to move them fairly constantly; this will ensure that the eggs do not take on any color. Also, cook the eggs just until they form plump, soft curds with no more runny parts in the pan (the curds should appear slightly wet, not dry) and immediately remove them from pan, as they will continue cooking.

A simple buttermilk biscuit serves as the basis for fruit shortcake. As with many easy recipes, your success rate at making biscuits will most likely grow exponentially with each attempt. There’s nothing tricky about it; just be sure to work quickly and not to overwork the dough at all, which will cause the biscuits to become heavy and flat. In this recipe, a traditional strawberry shortcake is enhanced by a rhubarb compote to serve along with the macerated berries. You can use one fruit and not the other (by doubling the amount of either topping). Or substitute an equal amount of another fruit for the rhubarb, or macerate any other type of berry. An apricot compote would be lovely with macerated blackberries, for example, or nectarines with raspberries. The whipped cream, however, is not optional; it’s a fundamental part of the appeal of fruit shortcake. The biscuits, meanwhile, can be served on their own for breakfast, topped with a pat of butter and your favorite jam. (If you are planning to serve them with savory dishes like eggs and bacon, however, omit the sugar and vanilla bean.)

This dish was originally named for the tomato and chile sauce it was served with; now it is often topped with any chile-spiked salsa, such as the tomatillo version on page 179. Start by heating the salsa in a skillet with a tablespoon of sunflower or other neutral-tasting oil.

Unlike when poached, eggs that are fried are intended to brown ever so slightly, with a hint of a crust around the edges that contrasts wonderfully with the soft, runny yolk. That’s the hallmark of eggs prepared “sunny side up.” When a fresh egg is cracked into a skillet, the thickest part of the egg white clings around the yolk. To ensure that the white sets throughout, you need to break the thick albumen sac, and distribute the whites evenly. Fried eggs are often served on toast or as a component of a heartier breakfast dish such as Huevos Rancheros.

This elegant dish is perfect for brunch. The artichokes resemble flower petals, with the eggs, hollandaise, and thin slices of smoked salmon their centers. See page 296 for how-to photos of trimming artichokes.

Because they are cooked in water, with no oil or other fat added, poached eggs are a healthful alternative to eggs cooked by many other methods. But their true appeal is in their texture, the ideal being a still-runny yolk surrounded by a just-set white. Their no-fat cooking method also suggests that the eggs might benefit from being served with a rich, flavorful Hollandaise Sauce (see page 96), as in eggs benedict. But they are also delicious on a slice of toast, which soaks up the yolk. A bit of practice is required to prevent the egg white from dispersing into the water, causing the edges to become frayed. Some cooks prefer to add a drop of white vinegar to the water to help the white coagulate; others swirl the water vigorously to create a whirlpool (technically a vortex, which traps the egg inside) just before sliding in the egg. Generally, though, you should not have a problem if you heed these suggestions: Use very fresh eggs; keep the water at a bare simmer (it should hardly move); gently slide the broken egg into the water; and spoon the edges of the whites over the egg as soon as it is in the pan.

Hard-cooked eggs should never actually be boiled for any length of time, or they will turn rubbery and dry. Instead, follow the directions below for gently cooking eggs—the whites will be tender and yolks still slightly soft in the center. These eggs would be perfect for sprinkling with salt and pepper and eating whole, halving and scooping out the yolks to make deviled eggs, or cutting into wedges for salads. They are also the starting point for making the classic mayonnaise-based egg salads. Soft-cooked eggs are classically served in their shell in a cocottier (small egg cup), with a tiny silver spoon and toast points (triangles) or soldiers (baton shapes) for dipping into the still-soft yolks. The eggs are also delicious scooped out of the shells and served on slices of toasted buttered rustic bread.