Cuban Harbor Breakfast Plate (Pan con Mantequilla and Cafe con Leche Eggs)

About This Recipe

Breakfast in Cuban port towns is rarely elaborate - usually just good Cuban bread, butter, and coffee with hot milk. This plate builds on that everyday combination: bread is toasted in browned butter until the crust turns deeply golden and nutty, then paired with soft, slowly scrambled eggs finished with a touch of the same browned butter. The technique that matters is patience with both the butter and the eggs. Butter needs to cook past melted into lightly browned and fragrant with a nutty aroma, watched closely since it can go from perfect to burnt in seconds. The eggs are cooked low and slow, pulled off the heat while still slightly loose, since they'll keep cooking in the residual heat of the pan. This is dockworker and fisherman's breakfast, built for fuel and simplicity - hearty enough before a long morning, and best eaten fast, while the toast is still warm and the coffee is still steaming.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 4 tbspunsalted butter(divided)
• 4 slicesCuban bread or baguette(cut on a bias)
• 4eggs
• 2 tbspwhole milk
• 0.5 tspfine sea salt
• 0.25 tspblack pepper
• 1 cuphot brewed strong coffee (espresso or Cuban coffee)
• 1 cupwhole milk(steamed or heated, for cafe con leche)

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the butter for toast

   Melt 2 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat, swirling until it turns golden-amber and smells nutty, about 2-3 minutes.

   Watch closely near the end - browned butter can burn in seconds once it starts to color.

2. 2

   Toast the bread

   Add bread slices to the browned butter and toast 1-2 minutes per side until deeply golden. Remove and set aside.

3. 3

   Brown more butter for eggs

   Add remaining 2 tbsp butter to the same skillet and let it brown lightly, about 1 minute.

4. 4

   Scramble gently

   Whisk eggs with milk, salt and pepper. Pour into the skillet over low heat, stirring slowly and constantly with a spatula until soft curds form, about 4-5 minutes.

5. 5

   Pull off heat early

   Remove the eggs from the heat while still slightly loose and glossy; they'll finish setting from residual heat.

6. 6

   Make the cafe con leche

   Pour hot coffee into cups and top with steamed or hot milk in roughly equal parts.

7. 7

   Plate

   Serve the browned-butter toast alongside the soft scrambled eggs with cafe con leche on the side.

Variations

• •

  Add a thin layer of guava paste and cream cheese to the toast before browning for a sweeter breakfast.

• •

  Stir a pinch of grated queso fresco into the eggs just before they finish cooking.

• •

  Swap butter for a butter-olive oil blend for a slightly lighter, more savory toast.

Storage

Best made fresh and eaten immediately; eggs and toast do not reheat well. Leftover cafe con leche can be refrigerated and reheated gently on the stove.

Frequently Asked Questions