Soft Scramble with Shallots & Comté
Actual question: How do you like your eggs? Your scrambled eggs, specifically? Are you a firm-and-folded person? A loose-and-scoopable fan? “There is no such thing as a perfectly scrambled egg,” writes Ella Quittner in her new extremely fun cookbook, Obsessed with the Best. In it, Ella tries out every possible cooking method, to find the best routes to classic dishes: juicy roast chicken, melty cabbage, chewy chocolate chip cookies, or in this case, soft-scrambled eggs. “So custardy that they’re halfway to dessert,” she says.
After dozens of trials, Ella developed her own precise (but very doable) technique for achieving, if not the perfect scrambled egg — because that is, of course, subjective — then certainly the softest and creamiest. “This is one of my favorite solo dinners on a busy night,” says Ella. “I love that it takes such little time and effort, but tastes like something you’d pay an arm and a leg for in a brunch restaurant.” Serve with a cold glass of white wine, she says, “and well-buttered toast — of course.” Well, naturally.
Here’s Ella’s method:
Caramelized Shallot Soft Scramble with Comté
From Obsessed with the Best, by Ella Quittner
Serves 1
3 eggs, cold from the refrigerator
1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus a pinch for the shallots
1 heaping tbsp cold crème fraîche
3 tbsp salted butter
1 large or 2 medium shallots, peeled and finely diced
1/4 cup grated Comté cheese
Flaky salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Note: While Ella’s recipe calls for shallots, she notes that you can swap them for any allium — like yellow onion or leeks.
Crack the eggs into a small bowl. Add the kosher salt. Use a fork to break the yolks, then forcefully whisk the eggs together for 30 seconds, or until totally homogeneous. Add the crème fraîche to the eggs in 5 or so little portions (so it’s not all in one clump). Refrigerate the bowl while you cook the shallots.
Set a small-to-medium skillet (nonstick, stainless steel, or well-seasoned carbon steel) over a high heat. Drop in 2 tablespoons of the butter. When it melts and foams, adjust the heat to medium-low and add the shallots with a pinch of kosher salt. Sauté, keeping the heat moderate to avoid burning the butter, for 8-10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent and browning around the edges and they taste sweet and concentrated.
Turn the heat to low and push the shallots to the sides of the skillet. After about 1 minute, add the remaining tablespoon of butter. Add the cold eggs. Do not touch them for 90 seconds! Seriously, I’ll know. After 90 seconds, the eggs should have begun to set up around the sides, like the very early stages of a French omelet. Rotate the pan 180 degrees, so its handle is facing the opposite way it was facing before. Use a silicone spatula to draw in the eggs and shallots from the edges, almost to the middle, but off to one side by a few degrees — like the spatula is a pilot taking a plane just off course. As you scrape toward the middle, be sure to scrape under the set eggs you’ve just drawn inward before moving on to the next stroke.
Don’t touch for another 90 seconds! I’ll definitely know. After 90 seconds, repeat this spatula motion. Sprinkle the grated Comté over the middle of the eggs, where the large, set curds are hanging out. Turn the heat up to medium for 20-40 seconds, and finish cooking any runny egg around the edges that has stubbornly refused to firm up. Pull the eggs from the heat while still glossy on top, and slide onto a plate.
Top with flaky salt and black pepper, and serve.
Thank you so much, Ella! We absolutely love your book.
P.S. Two more egg recipes: an easy make-ahead strata and Austin-style breakfast tacos.
(Photos by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott. Excerpted from Obsessed with the Best by Ella Quittner, on sale now from HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright © 2026 by Ella Quittner. All rights reserved.)
Comments
72 commentsI just made this, with the only alteration being halving the butter. 10/10, would cook again. I would say it’s safe to reduce the butter even further, in the case of saturated fat being a concern for anyone. I would also say this would be quite lovely even without the shallots, or any alliums, for people who dislike them. My only regret is that I did not have a piece of toasted bread alongside the eggs. Solid recipe!
good recipe. thanks.
My favorite way to eat eggs: either lightly scrambled or aerated with fresh chives (or scallions) and gouda cheese😊 Your method sounds great too!
I used to adore eggs, but about a year I just went off them. Whenever my egg loving family offer to make me eggs, I feel myself gag. I wonder if I this will ever change. (The eggs we get are from our neighbour – so they are happy chickens, and no babies are killed in the production soit isn’t about the ethics of mass farming).
Something similar happened to me postpartum! And it has stuck so far – our youngest is 1.5 now. Our eggs are from my aunt’s small farm and a (slightly larger but still small) local farm, both of which treat their chickens very kindly, so similar to you it’s not a production / ethics aversion. For me I can sometimes handle them now and sometimes can’t at all – if they are even slightly underdone I can’t stomach it at all, and sometimes it’s even just the sight or smell, raw or cooked. It’s so wild, I used to love eggs in all forms!
Similar thing has happened to me. With my eldest daughter I craved eggs after she was born and they were an easy protein source/quick meal, so I was eating them every day. Since then I can’t even imagine eating a hard boiled egg without gagging, it makes me nauseous! I cut out eggs completely for 3 years (also had noticed a weird skin reaction was greatly reduced when I stopped eating eggs and apparently eggs have the potential to cause issues in people with autoimmune tendencies – which I certainly tend towards). But now I can eat eggs from time to time (must be very cooked and scrambled or omelet form – still not ok with boiled). So all of this to say – no idea why this happens but you’re not alone!
Same here! I like Judy about every food known, but solo eggs make me gag, unfortunately!
Have you tried Just Egg? I can’t tolerate eggs for emotional reasons and just egg has been a great discovery.
Ummm, (raises hand) is it just me or would anyone else abbbsolutely buy those pictures of the grouped results as prints to hang up?!?
Me too!!
Me three! But maybe not the one of eggs
Anon OP: Sending hugs during this stressful time. I am not a lawyer but just passing on some info from the many friends I’ve had go through CA divorces (mostly in their 30’s and 50’s). I know the agreement can stipulate your spouse get a full time job in order to recieve any level of financial support. The more custody you retain of your children, the less support he may be able to argue for especially if you’re paying for the majority of expenses regarding cost of living, rent/mortgage, health, childcare and activities. I’ve had several friends successfully negotiate for a one time payment all up front. The assets are divided and the spouse received one big lump. It was a financially painful at first because it’s a big hit. But you may find this arrangement beneficial because it ended any future financial babysitting or manipulation (which sounds like a possible issue for you). Additionally it helped ease relations regarding future co-parenting. For any retirement/investment funds earned prior to marriage, you can calculate what was earned before your union and its earned interetst as solely yours. Best of luck and if I think of anything else, I’ll add it on.
Thank you so much! This is very helpful!
This makes me wish I liked scrambled eggs but I will def use the technique for loved ones!
I used to love eggs. This will be unpopular, but it’s important for people to realize, I think, how the egg industry works. To have eggs you need females bearing eggs continually, and males are not useful to them. Male chicks are literally macerated — chopped to pieces when alive — when they are a few days old. (https://mercyforanimals.org/blog/egg-industry-chick-culling/) If you keep backyard chickens, and treat them amazingly, and eat their eggs, I don’t see a problem with that (although I know many do, still). But if you buy your eggs from a farm that’s larger than a few hens, or a grocery store, then this is happening.
As a backyard chicken owner, I could not agree more. We have had a few roosters happen when doing our own hatches or even buying sexed chicks. Fortunately I had friends willing to let them join their flocks (we are not allowed roosters in our area) and while I am sure some of them got eaten, I know they grew to maturity, had a wonderful life, and were killed humanely to feed a family. I need to add a few chickens to our flock this year as we have a few aging out and it’s a constant battle of whether to buy or hatch etc. Our chickens all have names and come in the house to visit, they are truly pets who lay eggs for us. I don’t even like eggs, I just like chickens lol.
If I think about animals & food production, I do feel sad, but then I realize how much harm is happening to people — from war, starvation, homelessness, forced labor — all lver the world and I just can’t care anymore. But I know that’s just me
Thank you for sharing this horrifying fact. It’s important for us to know the impact our decisions have on other creatures.
Thank you so much for this comment. We eat so many eggs and I was completely unaware of this horrific practice. I did some research, and found a company — NestFresh, in their Humanely Hatched eggs — that appears to do sex determination early on enough to avoid incubating male embryos altogether. I’ll look into it some more but I’m grateful to you for raising this here.
One of the many reasons I went vegan almost 20 years ago.
Don’t be too concerned about the male chicks – at least they die quickly. The hens, on the other hand, survive an utterly horrific eighteen months in a space smaller than a standard sheet of paper. Their beaks are clipped, the lights are on 24 hours a day and they can’t even turn around or lift their wings. Battery hens have the worst existence of any CAFO animal.
Grateful for Vermont, where we are awash in neighbors with backyard chickens!
Omg, thank you for sharing this. No more grocery store eggs for me (which I always felt badly about anyway, since there are no real definitions for “cage free,” “free range,” “organic,” etc.).
In Switzerland the practice of grinding male chicks is banned as of Jan 2026 – producers must use a well developed technology for scanning eggs for gender prior to hatching. While Switzerland is tiny, there’s hope that this practice becomes standardized internationally.
Just eggs are a good vegan sub.
One might be able to find eggs from a neighbor in your community? We have 10 hens and sometimes sell extras to neighbors. And yes, our hens have names, are very pampered, we don’t ever kill for meat. They stop laying, they just get to eat for free. Even slightly larger chicken operations are pretty horrific from an animal welfare standpoint (i know because we’ve rescued hens that they were giving away, the poor hens were not in good shape at all but thankfully rebounded with loving care and space)
@ Elizabeth: EGGSACTLY! (sorry could not resist), but yes, the surviving hens have it much much worse. being enslaved and it’s just too horrible. People who don’t think that energy transfers to the egg itself and that energy is what you are taking into your body – horrible slavery and utter disregard for life. No Thank You. I am vegan but if I ate eggs it could only be from hens I %1000 knew were loved and respected. Duh…
I’m glad people like Ella exist! I appreciate her commitment to the pursuit of excellence. I have a very different temperament and fall more into the “good enough” category. Except for a few areas of my life where I can obsess, for most things, including cooking, once something hits my arbitrary mark of good enough, I move on.
Samesies!! Interesting to know the technique and I appreciate that she’s so dedicated. I don’t see myself spending 10+ minutes on eggs.
This will forever be my favorite scrambled egg recipe: https://youtu.be/GNGGWBWkRbE?t=165
My husband apprenticed under a famous French chef who transformed cuisine in our nearest big city. I believe the head chef and the restaurant are no longer but I reap all the rewards. He uses eggs and good butter. They are the most heavenly bites of air fluff that Ive ever have. I’m not sure what the temp of the pan he starts with, but our key is nearly whipping them. The kids tell me mine are as good as dads, which is a super big compliment. I hate to cook.
I think I’m the oddball because I like my scrambled eggs DRY, fluffy, and salty. When they’re creamy, gooey, or slippery I just can’t stomach it.
Yes!!!! Me too.
Same. Maybe that’s how my brain recognizes they’re definitely cooked and won’t give me food poisoning. Idk 🤷♀️
With you 100%! I’ll go as far as to say I don’t even need them fluffy, I like em dry and hard (it’s how my mom made them, so probably a learned taste!)
Preaching to the choir! I need my eggs totally mixed…I don’t want to see any white. Eggs must be well-cooked. I make a mean sunny side up egg for my family…but will never eat one myself!
“I’ll definitely know”– so funny, Kelsey!
I cannot eat eggs or anything from the onion family but MAN pregnancy craving unlocked.
This is the best recipe I have come across in ages. Can’t wait to try! Hoping Trader Joe’s has Compte cheese!
Ohh what a fun post! I am surely trying this one And extremely relevant question My 10 year old has newly been obsessed with scrambled eggs and thinks the once we had at Beatrix, Chicago were the best ever he tasted.(Very soft and velvety but cooked perfectly) Anyone by any chance knows the tricks to recreate those ? Thank you XOXO
No advice, but Beatrix is so great. It is a couple blocks from my office …
Anon, try cooking the eggs over a water bath. Put two inches of water in a pot on the stove and either set a larger bowl over the top (it shouldn’t touch the water, you are gently cooking with steam) or use a pan made for this purpose. Heat the water to a gentle boil, add a pat of butter, whisk your eggs well, and pour them in the top bowl. Give them a minute to start setting up a bit, and then use a silicone spatula to keep them moving so the liquid egg keeps reaching the hot bottom of the bowl to cook. If you are adding cheese, do it just as the egg is still shiny wet but is almost set, and once the cheese is soft, remove the bowl from the heat and then the eggs from the bowl. They will use the residual heat to cook just a tiny bit on the plate. It will take you a few tries to get it exactly right, but you can! Persistence and patience will win the day here.
I wasn’t familiar with Comte cheese and in looking it up discovered it is raw cow’s milk cheese. Does this run the same pathogen risks as raw milk?
good q! because I love cheese so much, I got into cheese safety when I was pregnant :) since Comte is aged for months, it meets safety standards for raw milk consumption (because the aging process reduces moisture, making it hostile to bacteria)
These eggs sound freaking delicious. However, one of main draws to an egg dinner is that it can be ready in five minutes. I’ll take this under advisement, but likely I’ll stick to my mediocre scrambles on lazy nights.
Same here. Butter, eggs, salt, done. I once read plenty of butter is key, as is adding salt to the eggs before cooking. Both true. I’m an unambitious cook.
I was taught not to use cold egg and still wind up with creamy delicate scrambled. While I assemble the ingredients and bring the pan to temp I place cold eggs in room temp bowl of water no more than 10 mins. The debate on which is favorable remains. Having said that, base recipes like this are wonderfully flexible which is always approachable. My fav scramble recipe remains an egg bake steamed in a 8×8 square pan cut into sandwich squares for a variety of uses. Also super flexible. Anon, I hope you find the helpful answers you seek.
Book looks cool. Reminds me of way back Alton Brown’s “3 Chips for Sister Sarah” – he made 3 chocolate chip varieties (puffy, flat, crispy iirc) and explained the science of the recipes a bit.
To be fair, you could put Comte and creme fraiche on anything and it would be phenomenal – especially alongside a glass of wine, but I’ll bet it takes eggs out of this world, lol… On the wine note, I am loving the series, Drops of God. It is so good, especially as a major secondary theme is very realistic brother sister relationship dynamics. Even though I almost never drink anymore (at most a saki or a hard Kombucha, lol), I used to be a wine snob and am loving a deep peek into this world. Very good, A+
I just finished the most recent episode of Drops of God this morning. I agree, well worth a watch.
yes, Drops of God shoutout!! I love this show and haven’t found many people watching it.
Hi Anon! It depends where you live. But the first step is to see if your spouse will agree to a dissolution. With a disso, you agree on everything up front and file it with the Court as a “final” document of sorts. In some states, you are able to use a retired judge to avoid appearing in court all together. If your spouse does not agree to the divorce, it is a little more complicated. Children also add to difficulty – child support and school/custody decisions. Many attorneys will meet with you prior to representing you without charging you for the consult. The attorney should walk you through pricing and what you want to accomplish prior to taking or asking for any payment. PS. I am a family law attorney. Good luck.
Ok, so this post has inspired me to ask a question of the CoJ community: I want to divorce my spouse; what is the best first step to take (we have done couples therapy and they know this is what I want)? I don’t want to come across as aggressive and just serve them like in the movies and I don’t even know if that is a real thing. I also can’t afford to just waste money on an attorney to talk this question through. Any suggestions are welcome. How does this relate to scrambled eggs? Enjoying a delicious bowl of soft scrambled eggs for dinner sounds like a dream to me that I don’t think I could have if I stay in my marriage.
hi anon! you don’t have to serve them, actually. if you’re amicable, you can find a mediator and go through the details of the divorce together. also, you can typically speak to a lawyer on the phone as a consultation for free — I did this with a few lawyers, as I was getting ready to hire one (to help with paperwork we did in mediation), and the advice and wisdom on these calls was invaluable.
Please note that divorce laws vary by state – but you should be able to set up a free phone consultation with lawyers in your area. That should be your first step!
Best of luck and a big virtual hug for you!
Before you do anything know where all the money and documents are and see an accountant confidentially. You have to know the outcomes and your goals before starting this.
I had to do all the paperwork for my own divorce myself because I couldn’t afford a lawyer. That said, I was able to consult an expensive lawyer once, and I was also able to see one pro bono through my local courts, and I agree with Joanna that those conversations were incredibly helpful. I would get as much legal advice as you can, not because you expect it to be really adversarial, but because it helps to understand the process. Mediation sounds like a wonderful option. I would also make sure, from Day One, that you are as organized as you can possibly be financially. You want to get the fullest and most detailed picture of your finances that you can have, as quickly as possible–not so that you can fight about money but that you can separate everything cleanly and fairly, as efficiently as possible. I would be aware that sometimes ex-spouses don’t actually follow through on the bits of the logistics that they say they will handle–so, for instance, my ex said that he would take care of closing our joint checking, and he didn’t, and it ended up causing problems. The same happened to a friend of mine. It ended up being simplest for me to close out the account. It’s really important that you close out any joint banking, etc., asap, even if you trust your partner’s integrity. My advice would be to get it done as quickly as possible, even if you have to do it all yourself–it can create confusion down the road. Likewise, make sure that you remove him as beneficiary from any retirement accounts, etc. Figure out who your new beneficiary is, or if you need a new will. Figure out who your medical emergency contact will be. Change all relevant paperwork. If one of you has significantly greater earning power than the other, I would remember, as you split, that whatever assets you have now are going to be worth vastly more whenever you (hopefully) retire. If one partner has made significant sacrifices for the sake of the other person’s career, it’s really important that that person get enough assets (assuming you have some) that they have some base to save for retirement. Honestly, I think that people who have been married through the courts have a much easier time working out this kind of division of property; it’s harder when people have been long-term partners without being married.
How complicated your divorce will be depends on a lot of factors – splitting assets (do you own a house), whether you have minor kids, and whether the state provides for and either party needs alimony. I would recommend starting by looking at your state’s court website. A lot of states offer free forms for filing for divorce. If you feel like it safe, I would recommend that you prepare your form and then discuss with your partner about your proposal to split (i.e., money, housing, timing, etc). Hiring a mediator is a great way to get to an agreement. You could even do that in advance of filing so that by the time you file, the divorce would be uncontested. Best of luck.
I think Joanna’s reply is spot on – I also wanted to add that I would love to see a post on how you know when it’s time to divorce. I’ve been on the fence myself for years.
If you have an EAP through a job, consider checking with them. Our company’s EAP provides free legal consultation sessions on a range of topics. And don’t forget the counseling session benefits if your EAP offers those, too!
I have no sage words of advice, but I am sending you loving kindness via the internet. I hope a year from now, you are enjoying creamy scrambled eggs and being proud of yourself for going on a brave new journey.
I am the OP and am so grateful for the advice. I was hesitant to even contact an attorney for some unreasonable fear they will hunt me down for the cost of the call; haha! We are in California and have minor children but fortunately I am well versed in all of our finances, accounts, etc. As much as I am willing to just split custody and assets I think my spouse will come after me for spousal support (because they are unwilling/unable to keep a job). Do you still think mediation could be an option? I will ask some attorneys. Thank you, thank you for the support and for encouraging me to take these necessary next steps.
Hi anon, good for you for knowing what’s right for you and feeling ready!! Just want to gently add that if your situation is one where just eating what you want for dinner isn’t possible, you might want to prepare yourself to make sure you are safe and protected once you begin a separation and divorce. The hotline has resources for so many situations, and they are ready to help, even if “domestic violence” doesn’t apply to you. https://www.thehotline.org/ If your partner has ever made you feel afraid, or been controlling, or been violent (even if they’ve never hurt you), or if they own a gun, please know that the period when you leave the relationship can hold great risk of violence. There are SO many wonderful resources to help you safely get out of the relationship. The hotline is a good place to start. Wishing you the very best of luck. We are rooting for you.
I knew I wanted a divorce, but also knew that I would need help communicating that to my spouse (for reasons I can’t get into here!) Since we were going through issues anyway, we started seeing a couple’s therapist, and that gave me a space to talk about my feelings and deliver the news that I wanted a divorce in a controlled setting. I could not have done it alone, or it would have gone completely sideways – or further sideways than it did. Having a third, objective person there to help guide the conversation and help us talk about what to do next in the process was invaluable. It was also impossible for my ex to try to talk me out of it, gaslight me, verbally abuse me, etc. Good luck! Knowing what you want is the first step – and one that I found was hard to get to. So – you’re on your way! xx
Anon my sister got out of a marriage where something as simple as the meal she wanted seemed like a dream, and I just wanted to say that it was really hard but so, so worth it. You deserve a full life! Good luck and know the cup of Jo readers are cheering for you! And yes to the person with the hotline advice—if you’re concerned at all about how they’ll react, please get help! Also, if you’re worried about being charged for a phone call, just ask: “do you charge for this consult?” I agree that basically everyone gives free consults but it might put you at ease to not be wondering the whole time you’re on the phone!
Yes, OP—Mediation is a place where you can explore/push back on the request for spousal support.
I had a mediated divorce. It is a good option if the situation is somewhat amicable. (We had some friction but agreed that the expense and acrimony of going to court was not something either of us wanted.) I started the process of figuring out how to navigate a divorce by asking a few local friends and acquaintances who had been divorced what they did. People were quite willing to share what did and didn’t work for them and one person recommended a good mediator. Good luck… it’s daunting at first but a do-able process and better on the other side.
No advice, just sending you so much strength and love from afar.
Not to go against the grain, but I find all this advise very sobering – and I say this as someone who ponders blowing it all up on a near-daily basis. Makes me wonder about the fantasy vs reality of divorce. Does eating eggs alone sound great OH YES. Does selling my house, dividing our meager finances, figuring out how to split time with the kids and then being a single parent (while also figuring out how co-parent teens in 2 different households) sound great? Not so much. I am sure some might comment I’m just “not ready yet.” But… I’m feeling oddly inspired to take a fucking chill pill and figure out how to reinvest in my marriage.
I accidentally replied to you under the whole post at large so you have to scroll up to read it. Sorry about that!
Hi Anon! Fellow Californian :) Just sending some encouragement. It will all be well. I’m about two years out and highly recommend a consultation call. My coparent and I mediated our divorce amicably, and we each hired a consulting attorney to review all of our agreements. While I would NEVER want to go through the process again (it is a grind), it was manageable and worth it. Recently, an older stanger asked me if I was married and I laughed and said, “oh no, I’m happily divorced!” I never though that would be me. It really does work out in the end. This resource was super helpful in finding a CA collaborative mediator: https://collaborativedivorcecalifornia.com.