Editor's note: The recipe below is excerpted from Eggs by Michel Roux. To read more about the book, click here.

　　For optimum flavor, use the meat from a freshly cooked live crab.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

　　36 small asparagus spears

　　salt and freshly ground pepper

　　6 1/2 tbsp (80g) butter

　　8 eggs, beaten

　　2 tbsp light or heavy cream

　　8 cooked shelled crab claws, or 5 1/2 oz (160g) cooked white crab meat

　　1 tsp (5g) chives, cut into short lengths

　　

Step 1

Peel the asparagus stalks thinly with a vegetable peeler and cut off the tips leaving about 1 1/2-inch (4-cm) stalk attached to them. Cook in boiling salted water for 2 to 3 minutes; the asparagus should be firm but not crunchy. Refresh in cold water and keep at room temperature.

　　

Step 2

Melt the butter in a heavy pan, add the beaten eggs, and scramble (click here for instuctions). Add the cream at the end of cooking and season with salt and pepper.

　　

Step 3

Steam the crabmeat or shelled claws for 2 to 3 minutes to heat them, then add the asparagus and steam for another minute, until just hot.

　　

Step 4

Divide the scrambled eggs between 4 plates. Place 2 crab claws or a pile of crabmeat in the center, arrange the asparagus tips around the crab, scatter with the chives, and serve at once.