The olive oil makes it golden. That's the whole secret.
I spent years making fried eggs in butter, which is fine. Butter is fine. And then I made them in really good olive oil and understood that I had been settling.
In Sicily, eggs are cooked in olive oil. Not as a health decision — as a flavour one. The oil goes into the pan until it shimmers, the egg goes in, and what happens at the edges is something butter can't do: that lacy, crispy, golden fringe that makes a fried egg feel like it was made with intention.
This is a breakfast. It is also, on certain mornings, a complete meal. Good toast, good oil, a properly cooked egg. The unhurried version of a weekday morning.
The olive oil makes it golden.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Tutto Sicilia Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 eggs
- Good bread, toasted
- Flaky sea salt
- A few cracks of black pepper
- Fresh herbs if you have them — thyme, flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking.
- Crack eggs in carefully. You'll hear them sizzle immediately — that's right.
- Tilt the pan and spoon the hot oil over the whites as they cook — this sets the top without flipping.
- Cook for 2–3 minutes until the whites are fully set and the edges are golden and a little crispy.
- Slide onto toast. Season with flaky salt and pepper.
- Eat while it's hot.
Nonna's Notes
She basted with olive oil and said nothing. The technique was the lesson. Watch the edges.
The difference between a good fried egg and an ordinary one is almost always the fat. Use oil you'd eat with bread. Use enough of it. Don't rush it.
That's the whole lesson.
The difference between a good fried egg and an ordinary one is almost always the fat.
