Shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth, an Australian nutritionist came forward with the recipe for the late Queen's favorite way to enjoy her scrambled eggs for breakfast. Apparently, her Majesty liked to include a secret ingredient (or two!) in her eggs.
At least according to the nutritionist, who apparently been given the recipe by the Queen's private chef.
Being a longtime fan of her Majesty, not least for her backbone of steel and adorable outfits, I felt like I could relate to her - at least as much as a "commoner" like myself could hope to relate to a member of the royal family - because she was, of course, also a corgi mom.
I always loved seeing the photos of her with her corgis at Buckingham Palace or out in the country.
And since her son Prince Charles has raised chickens for years at Highgrove House, she always insisted on organic brown eggs!
I also read that Queen Elizabeth was a big fan of eating locally sourced ingredients and in addition was an advocate of eating seasonally, so she most likely ate eggs more in the spring and summer when the hens were laying, and other times of the year she reportedly enjoyed cold cereal, toast and jam.
A woman after my own heart!
So of course I just had to try the Queen's favorite scrambled egg recipe using our own chicken eggs.
The Secret Ingredient in Queen Elizabeth's Royal Scrambled Eggs
And now for the secret ingredient in Queen Elizabeth's "royal eggs".
According to Taste of Home, "...her chef would start with three organic eggs and a tablespoon of milk. He’d whisk thoroughly before pouring the mixture in a warm pan on low heat with a tablespoon of butter. This was to keep the eggs fluffy and avoid lumps.
Just before the eggs completely set, he would add in about 1 teaspoon of lemon zest and a pinch of nutmeg. After the eggs set completely, they were garnished with black pepper and chives and immediately served to Her Majesty."
So there you have it. Queen Elizabeth enjoyed her scrambled eggs with lemon zest and nutmeg.
And odd as it might seem to add nutmeg or lemon zest to scrambled eggs, it's actually quite good. I made the recipe a few times, tweaking it a bit each time.
I normally don't add any liquid when I make scrambled eggs, but I did add the milk since the Queen preferred it.
So here's my slightly adapted recipe for Queen Elizabeth's Royal Eggs.
I really love secret ingredients and the combination of lemon and nutmeg - unconventional as it may seem - really do work quite well together. And in fact, I actually ended up increasing the amounts of both used in the original recipe in my final recipe.
Note: This scrambled egg recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make a larger portion.
Queen Elizabeth's "Royal" Scrambled Eggs
1 tablespoon butter
2 fresh eggs
2 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
Fresh chopped chives, for garnish*
Melt the butter in a medium skillet over low heat. Whisk the eggs, milk and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. When the butter is foamy, pour in the eggs.
Use a spatula to gently move the eggs around in the pan until just barely set. Add the lemon zest and nutmeg and stir to combine.
Remove the pan from the heat, slide the eggs onto a plate and season with pepper. Garnish with fresh chives.
*for a change of pace, try swapping out the chives for another herb such as tarragon or dill
Another Note: When I shared these photos on social media, several people commented that the eggs weren't cooked or were too runny.
Now, of course it's personal preference, but most people tend to OVERcook eggs. There's nothing enticing about dry, overcooked scrambled eggs.
They should be removed from the heat as soon as they start to set. They will still look wet, but will continue to cook a bit even after they hit the plate.
