For years, I would eat eggs only as an excuse to have bacon and hash browns. And then I made this discovery—the French method of slow cooking. The results of this technique are so good, I’d be perfectly happy to eat the eggs plain, without embellishment, but in this version I still get my potatoes and bacon. This dish requires patience: it’s tempting to turn the heat up and finish the eggs quickly, but if you do, they will lose the creamy, custardy consistency that elevates this dish beyond breakfast. Try these eggs as a first course before something simple and light, such as a vegetable or chicken sauté, or grilled fish or beef. You can also serve them for brunch, with fresh fruit or a green salad.
Truffles and eggs are a friendly, elegant combination and a great way to elevate this dish. If you're lucky enough to get hold of a fresh truffle, place it in a bowl with the whole eggs and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, and the eggs will absorb the truffle aroma through their porous shells! (They absorb other smells too, which is why it's best to store them in their carton.) If you don't have a truffle, a drop or two of truffle oil at the end of cooking will do the trick.
