Ina Garten Shares Secret to Creamy Scrambled Eggs: Ricotta Cheese

Celebrity chef Ina Garten has shared her secret ingredient for making scrambled eggs exceptionally creamy: ricotta cheese. Garten, known for her show "Barefoot Contessa," revealed this technique in a recent conversation with The Wall Street Journal.

Garten advocates for a gentle cooking process, emphasizing that "how you cook the eggs makes such a difference." She suggests incorporating ricotta cheese into the eggs while cooking them over very low heat. This method, she explained, imparts a creaminess and unique texture, transforming the dish into something akin to a custard rather than traditional scrambled eggs.

In addition to ricotta, Garten also recommends adding fresh herbs, such as chives, to the eggs. This approach shares a commonality with other culinary figures like Gordon Ramsay, who also favors a low-heat cooking method for soft eggs, often adding crème fraîche at the end to enhance richness and halt the cooking process. Garten, however, incorporates the ricotta directly into the eggs as they cook, leaving small curds visible for texture.

Her recipe, adapted from her cookbook "Simply Ina," is designed to serve four. It calls for eggs, milk, butter, olive oil, and ricotta cheese. Garten prepares the eggs by heating butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Once the whisked eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper and mixed with milk, begin to set at the edges, she stirs them constantly until they reach a soft, custardy consistency.

Garten suggests serving these rich scrambled eggs on buttered toast, garnished with chives, Parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes. This method adds another dimension to the humble breakfast staple.

Beyond breakfast, Garten has shared other simple culinary tips. For quick appetizers, she prepares a blue-cheese dip using blue cheese and mayonnaise, served with assorted vegetables. She also lists potato chips, olives, salami, and cucumbers as easy snack options. For desserts, Garten admitted to purchasing a cheesecake from a reputable bakery and elevating it with a simple raspberry sauce, allowing her to relax while still serving a delicious treat.

Garten shares more of her food and entertaining insights on her video podcast, "Happy Hour With Ina Garten," filmed in her Manhattan apartment.