Poached Egg and Asparagus

To take the poached egg one step further, one can simply add some roasted asparagus. This is a classic pairing and one that doesn't require much fuss.

Roasted Asaparus with a Poached Egg
Serves 2

1 Tblspn Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 lb Asparagus, trimmed
2 Eggs
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. After prep, place trimmed asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 12 - 14 minutes. Halfway through toss asparagus to ensure even cooking.

When there is about 5 minutes left for the asparagus, begin poaching the eggs. To plate, place roasted asparagus evenly on dish and set a poached egg on top. Sprinkle with grated parmigiano and salt and pepper (if desired).



For an even more savory dish, you can add a spoonful of hollandaise sauce as a final step.



You have endless uses with two basic ingredients. You could make an asparagus risotto, a warmed asparagus salad, a pureed asparagus soup, etc. Get creative!

Asparagus Risotto with a Poached Egg
Serves 4

1 lb Asparagus, trimmed, cleaned, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Tblspn Butter
1 Onion, diced
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1 C Arborio Rice
1/2 C White Wine
2 C Chicken Broth
1/2 C Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1 Tblspn Butter
Salt & Pepper, as desired
1 Splash Fresh Lemon Juice
4 Eggs

Poached Egg: Eggs Benedict

To put it simply, there is nothing better for Sunday brunch than a simple eggs benedict. The pairing of sweet brioche bread, runny yolk, salty ham, and a creamy hollandaise sauce send me straight to heaven.

I'll go over a few preparations here to help make a perfect eggs benedict. This is pulled from Elizabeth David's French Provencial Cooking, which I can't recommend enough. First, is the hollandaise sauce which is a combination of 3 egg yolks, 6-8 knobs (knob = 1 tablespoon) of room temperature butter, a splash of lemon juice, a white wine reduction, and a dash of cayenne pepper.

To begin, bring 3 tablespoons white wine and 2 tablespoons water to a boil and reduce to 1 tablespoon of mixture. To this add, 1/2 tablespoon water. You will then add the wine reduction to a mixting bowl which will have your 3 egg yolks and a splash of lemon juice - wisk well. It's best to use a double broiler here but you can improvise as I did.

Bring 1/2 - 1 inch of water to a boil in a sauce pan and place the mixing bowl over it. You don't want a rapid boil but just a simple steady boil to generate steam to cook the sauce. If you get it too hot you'll end up with scrambled eggs.

Begin introducing the knobs of butter one at a time. When one has melted add another and continue. The sauce should begin to thicken but if it is thickening too fast you can add 1/2 tablespoon of water to thin it out.

To finish, add the cayenne pepper to taste.




Julia's Eggs Benedict
Serves 1

2 Poached Eggs
2 Rounds of Brioche
2 Rounds of Country Ham
Hollandaise sauce
Salt and pepper

Bring oven to 350 degrees then add brioche rounds to lightly toast. Bring small saute pan to medium heat and sear the ham. Poach eggs as described prior. To plate, place brioche rounds on a plate topped with ham, a poached egg, a spoonfull of hollandaise. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

BASICS: Poached Egg

People think poached eggs are intimitating or even difficult and time comsuming. This line of thinking could not be further from the truth. Once you get the technique down, you can breeze through countless poached eggs for your Sunday brunch. Poached eggs not only taste great by themselves but even the simplest addition of toast makes a boring egg a wonderful breakfast.

There a few things needed to make a simple poached egg: Egg, vinegar, a small sauce pan, a large skillet, a small ramekin, and a slotted spoon.

To start, fill the small sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Next, fill the large skillet with water and bring it to a low simmer. Becareful as you do not want a rolling boil since it will completely break apart your egg. Place the egg in the sauce pan for 30-45 seconds to lightly set the egg. Crack open the egg and place it in the ramekin. Take the slotted spoon and make a gentle whirlpool in the skillet. Slowly pour the egg in the middle of the skillet. The egg should form a small ball and begin to cook. Remove the skillet from the heat and cook the egg for 2-3 minutes, depending on heat and size of the egg.

Once the egg is cooked, remove it with the slotted spoon and pat dry with a paper towel. Serve the egg immediately with a dash of salt and pepper. It's that simple!



This took me several attempts to final get the technique right. I've found it easier to bring the water in the skillet to a small bowl and wait until it is dead still. I then place the egg in the middle and THEN make a gentle whirlpool. On several occasions, the whirlpool pulled the egg apart.

There are several ways to make multiple poached eggs. One is to cook multiple eggs depending on the size of your skillet at the same time. The other is to make the eggs individually. Once each egg is cooked, place it on a paper towel and cook your next. When you are ready to serve, simply place all eggs back in the low boling water to for 45-60 seconds to reheat. I've also read it's best to have an ice bath to place the cooked eggs in for 15 second to stop the cooking. If you're cooking for 4 or more people, I would use the reheating technique. You can simply find what way works best for the given circumstance.

Once you have mastered the poached egg, you have countless way to use a poached in your every day cooking. The most basic and my personal favorite is eggs benedict.