How I cook tornado eggs at home: a soft, swirled three-egg omelette on toasted sourdough with a fine herb salad and cracked pepper. Cafe-style in minutes.
Tornado Eggs
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Category
Breakfast
Servings
1
Prep time
5 minutes
Cook time
2 hours
You may have seen me cook these on MasterChef Australia recently when I taught the contestants an egg masterclass. Tornado eggs were everywhere on Melbourne cafe menus when I was working in them about ten years ago, and they’re one of the easier ways to turn three eggs into something that looks like it took skill. This is how I make them at home.
Tornado Eggs Explained
The pan and the fat
We’re going to cook these in a stainless steel pan, not non-stick. The stainless surface gets nice and hot and gives the egg something to grab onto as you roll it, which is how the spiral holds its shape. Olive oil goes in first, then butter once the pan’s up to heat. The butter is for flavour and to coat the surface, but it’ll burn fast on its own, so the oil sits underneath as a buffer. Watch for the butter to stop foaming, that’s the signal it’s ready for the eggs.
The rolling motion
Pour the whisked eggs into the centre of the pan, then immediately start pulling the cooked edge toward you with a fork while tilting the pan so the raw egg flows in behind it. Keep going in a circular motion. As one ribbon sets, you keep rolling more raw egg under and around it, building up the tornado shape. The whole thing takes about thirty seconds. Stop while there’s still a tiny bit of glossy egg in the centre because it carries through cooking on the toast.
Ingredient Notes
Eggs: Use the freshest eggs you can find. Older eggs have looser whites that spread out in the pan instead of holding a tight shape. If you can, take them out of the fridge fifteen minutes before cooking. Cold eggs hit the hot pan and seize unevenly, which makes the rolling harder to control.
Butter and olive oil: I use both. The olive oil goes in first because it has a higher smoke point and can take the heat without burning. The butter goes in second for flavour and to coat the pan. If you only used butter, it would burn before you got the eggs in. If you only used oil, the eggs wouldn’t taste of much. Around a tablespoon of each is right for a three-egg tornado.
Fine herb salad: A small handful of soft herbs, dressed lightly. I like to use parsley, chives and chervil if I can get it, with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. The herbs cut through the richness of the butter and the cracked pepper on top. Nothing else needs to go on the plate.
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Fork
Maryse spatula
Stainless steel frying pan, around 20 to 22cm
Toaster or grill
Chef’s knife
Chopping board
Ingredients
-
3 eggs
-
pinch of sea salt
-
1 tbsp olive oil
-
1 tbsp butter
-
2 slices sourdough, toasted
-
small handful of soft herbs (parsley, chives and chervil)
-
cracked black pepper, to serve
Directions
Crack the eggs into a bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk vigorously with a fork until you have one consistent yellow colour with no streaks of white.
Place a stainless steel frying pan over medium-high heat for about a minute until it’s properly hot. Test with a drop of water, it should ball up and dance across the surface.
Add the olive oil and swirl it around to coat the base of the pan, then add the butter and let it melt (don’t let it burn).
Pour the eggs into the centre of the pan all at once.
Using a maryse spatula, pull the cooked edge of the egg toward you while tilting the pan so the raw egg flows in behind it. Keep going in a circular motion, rolling the cooked egg around the pan and adding more raw egg behind it as you go. Build it up into a tornado shape.
Stop while there’s still a tiny bit of glossy egg in the centre. The whole cook takes around thirty seconds.
Slide the tornado onto a slice of freshly toasted sourdough, top with a small handful of dressed herbs and a generous crack of black pepper. Serve immediately.
Recipe notes
Chef Tips
Get the pan hot
The stainless steel needs to be hot enough that the egg doesn’t immediately stick. Test with a drop of water, it should ball up and dance across the surface. If it just sizzles flat and evaporates, give the pan another thirty seconds before the oil goes in.
Stop while it’s still glossy
The tornado keeps cooking from residual heat as you slide it onto the toast. If you cook it dry in the pan, it’ll be rubbery by the time you’re sitting down to eat. A bit of shine in the middle is what you want.
Add some extra flavour
Whisked into the eggs: Stir in finely chopped chives, a few drops of soy or fish sauce, a small handful of finely grated parmesan, or a sprinkle of furikake or shichimi togarashi.
On the toast under the eggs: Spread mashed avocado with lemon, whipped feta with lemon zest, a thin layer of pesto, or a swipe of chilli or anchovy butter.
Spooned over the top: Finish with chilli crisp, hot honey, hollandaise, salsa verde, or crumbled crispy bacon.
Alongside: Serve with smoked salmon, garlic-butter mushrooms, slow-roasted tomatoes, or wilted garlic spinach.
Storage
Tornado eggs really need to be eaten straight out of the pan. They don’t reheat well, the texture goes from soft to rubbery within a few minutes. The herb salad can be made earlier in the day, just dress it right before serving. The sourdough is best toasted to order. If you’re cooking for more than one person, keep the pan hot and roll each tornado individually because they only take a minute each once you’re set up.
FAQs
Can I make tornado eggs without a stainless steel pan? Yes, you can use a cast iron, carbon steel or non-stick pan but I prefer stainless steel. A 20 to 22cm pan is the right size for three eggs.
Why is my tornado falling apart? It’s usually one of two things. Either the pan wasn’t hot enough so the egg stuck to the surface as you tried to roll it, or you whisked the eggs too gently and the white was still in chunks. Get the pan properly hot before the oil goes in, and whisk until the colour is fully even.
