I was recently given a copy of the classic French cookbook La bonne cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange, which is said to be the book that got Julia Child started cooking. I noticed immediately that it has a large number of recipes in the category oeufs brouillés, the formidable French phrase for scrambled eggs.
This is a version of oeufs brouillés Magda—eggs scrambled with Gruyère, mustard, and herbs. The mustard adds a nice note but doesn’t overwhelm the eggs. It deviates from the original in a few ways, in part because Madame Saint-Ange was apparently quite fussy about scrambled eggs, and she calls for at least twice the amount of butter used here. I used a mixture of parsley and chives, but any fresh herbs should work.

Scrambled Eggs Magda
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2-1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1-1/3 ounces grated Gruyère cheese
- 2-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Beat the eggs thoroughly and season with salt and black pepper.
- Melt the butter over low heat and add the beaten eggs.
- Cook over low heat, stirring slowly but constantly.
- Once the egg mixture has thickened but not yet become solid, add the cream and stir thoroughly.
- Continue stirring, until the eggs turn into a solid but smooth mass.
- While the eggs are still quite wet, add the Gruyère and mix thoroughly. There should be no lumps of cheese in the eggs; the mixture should remain smooth and uniform.
- Just before the eggs are done, add the mustard and herbs. Mix thoroughly.
- Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
- Serve with buttered toast.
Nutrition
I have seen the most wonderful breakfast ideas today and then I come here and now I want this instead of all the other things. The problem is, I ate breakfast hours ago. I think it’s going to be a breakfast for dinner kind of day.
Which herbs would you recommend adding to this? What did you use?
We use parsley and chives. Hope you like the dish.
This is my kind of recipe. It looks delicious and I have most of the ingredients already.