Spicefreak

So, folks, last week may have seen the release of my latest Hot Ones-style line-up but it also gave me the idea for something else. A quick and simple recipe, inspired by the show and by one of the companies that I’ve recently featured.

Back when I tried Chilli Bobs‘ Chimera Chilli Sauce, I mentioned that such a tangy sauce would be perfect for eggs and its maker got in touch to say that I absolutely had to try them scrambled.

So here I go, recreating Gordon Ramsay’s recipe and doing exactly what he told us all not to: Adding hot sauce!

Now Gordon didn’t give us a helpful list of ingredients, when he appeared on Hot Ones, so the ratios in this recipe are all very much my own. But I owe the method to him, all the same.

Here’s what I used:

3 medium eggs

2 slices of white bread

1 tablespoon sour cream or crème fraiche

1 tablespoon Chimera Chilli Sauce

1 teaspoon chives

¼ teaspoon salt

50g butter

And none of the black peppercorns seen on the show. Because there’s enough of a fragrant pepper taste from the chimera, already.

Now, since this is an extremely quick recipe, I’d strongly suggest reading over the lot before you begin. Then, only once you know what you’re doing, put your bread in the toaster.

Once we’re on the clock, we’ll start our eggs off by putting a pan on to a medium-high heat and immediately breaking them in. Stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon or spatula, as the pan warms up, in order to keep them from sticking.

Then, when they’ve reached a single, uniform colour, we’ll chunk in forty grams of the butter, leaving a small amount for the toast, and remove our pan from the stove, as we stir it all through. At which point, it should look something like this:

Fully yellow and just beginning to stick to the spoon.

Return it to the heat, one last time, and it’s time for us to add in the rest. First the sour cream or crème fraiche, for that creamy texture, and the hot sauce, for flavour. Then the salt and chives, as it begins to chunk up.

Now I’m using dried chives because they’re what I have. Fresher have a less grassy, more oniony taste and are generally preferred, if you can get your hands on them.

Just be sure to chop them up ahead of time, so that you’re not stopping and starting constantly. Because even stopping to take photos, like I did, can change the dish considerably. Giving me a far chunkier end texture than Sean and Gordon’s version:

And, while we’re on the subject of ingredient substitutions, budget sour cream is very similar to cheap crème fraiche but, if you’re buying the good stuff, make sure that you get the second of the two. Because, at a higher price point, the difference between them is far more considerable.

Now, if we’ve timed this right, your bread should be just about toasted. So simply spread it with the remaining butter and serve. Like so:

For two slices of deliciously rich and creamy scrambled eggs on toast, given a sharp tang and a broad

kick by the Chimera Chilli Sauce. Quite considerably less than that product has, alone, but I’m not complaining. Any hotter and I might have to reconsider having it for breakfast.

Flavour-wise, the vinegar in the sauce does a great job of cutting through the fatty eggs but what really sell the combination are the pale undertones of white naga, coming in from the chimera’s pink tiger parent.

Fragrant, yet not too floral. Gentle, yet far from subtle. And with none of the tiger’s own bitterness.

The fruity overtones of the chimera chilli are there but the eggs bring out its other side. The aspects which make both the chilli and today’s eggs truly special.