Huevos Pericos con Menta (Herb-Scrambled Eggs with Mint)

About This Recipe

Huevos pericos are Colombia's everyday scrambled eggs — soft-scrambled with diced tomato and scallion cooked down first so their juices season the eggs as they cook, a breakfast staple found on tables from Bogotá to the Caribbean coast. This version is genuinely closer to a scramble than a folded omelet, which is the honest way this dish is actually made and eaten in Colombian households; adding fresh mint alongside the traditional cilantro is a small, personal touch some home cooks use for extra brightness, though cilantro alone is the standard. The technique that separates good huevos pericos from mediocre ones is cooking the tomato and scallion down enough that most of their liquid evaporates before the eggs go in — wet vegetables make watery, unevenly cooked eggs. Once the eggs are added, they're stirred gently and pulled off the heat while still slightly glossy, since residual heat finishes the curd. Served with arepa or a slice of bread and a cup of Colombian coffee, this is the most common breakfast in the country — fast, cheap and endlessly comforting.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 5eggs
• 1 tbspbutter
• 2scallions(sliced, white and green separated)
• 1tomato(diced)
• 0.5 tspfine sea salt
• 0.25 tspblack pepper
• 1 tbspchopped fresh mint
• 1 tbspchopped cilantro

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the tomato and scallion

   Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add scallion whites and diced tomato, cooking until the tomato softens and most of its liquid has cooked off, about 5 minutes.

2. 2

   Beat the eggs

   While the vegetables cook, whisk eggs with salt and pepper until just combined.

3. 3

   Add the eggs

   Pour eggs into the skillet with the tomato mixture and reduce heat to medium-low.

4. 4

   Scramble gently

   Stir slowly and continuously with a spatula, pulling the eggs from the edges to the center, until soft curds form, about 2-3 minutes.

   Pull the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly wet — carryover heat finishes them, and this is what keeps huevos pericos soft rather than dry and rubbery.

5. 5

   Finish and serve

   Fold in scallion greens, mint and cilantro off the heat. Serve immediately with arepa or toasted bread.

Variations

• •

  Skip the mint for the classic, traditional version — cilantro alone is the standard preparation across Colombia.

• •

  Add diced Colombian chorizo or ham to the tomato mixture for a heartier breakfast.

• •

  Top with crumbled queso costeño for a salty, crumbly finish common on the Caribbean coast.

Storage

Best eaten immediately — scrambled eggs don't reheat well. If needed, store covered in the fridge up to 1 day and reheat gently over low heat, stirring constantly, for less than a minute.

Frequently Asked Questions