Posted on: Wednesday, August 24, 2005
TASTE
Easy poached eggs go beyond brunch
By Carole Kotkin
Knight Ridder News Service
When my son-in-law Mark comes to visit, he always asks me to poach eggs for breakfast. He says they taste like the pure essence of eggs.
A flawless poached egg is compact, with glistening whites clinging to a barely set yolk. No fat is used and no other ingredients are mixed in.
Most of us associate poached eggs with eggs Benedict (English muffins topped with Canadian bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce). But they're lovely served as part of a salad, floated in a soup, or served with creamed spinach, or on herbed toasts (bruschetta) or atop steamed vegetables, with the golden yolks serving as a sauce.
Poached eggs have a reputation for being more difficult to make than they really are:
Start with the freshest eggs you can find; the whites will hold their shape better than those of older eggs.
Fill a 10-inch nonstick skillet with about 3 inches of water, cover it and bring it to a boil. (If you don't have a lid, cover the pan with a cookie sheet.) Meanwhile, for 4 eggs, crack one each into four custard cups or small bowls.
Add 1 tablespoon plain vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the water. (Vinegar helps the eggs hold their shape; you won't taste it in the finished dish.)
When the water boils, reduce the heat to maintain a gentle but steady simmer. One at a time, lower the lip of each cup 1/2 inch below the surface of the water and let the egg slide in. Immediately cover the pan and remove it from the heat. Set a timer — 3 minutes for medium-firm yolks, 4 minutes if you like the yolks mostly set.
As soon as the timer goes off, use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs one at a time, setting the spoon briefly on a clean towel to drain, and transfer to plates. (If you're looking for picture-perfect eggs, trim any ragged edges with scissors.)
If you're cooking for company, you can poach the eggs the night before, undercooking them by about a minute. Refrigerate them, uncovered, as long as 24 hours in a big bowl of cold water, and warm them as described in today's recipe. You can serve this salad as a first course or as a side dish with chicken or fish. Match with a sauvignon blanc.
WARM SPINACH SALAD WITH POACHED EGGS
1 pound baby spinach, washed and spun dry
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped thyme
4 eggs, poached and chilled (see above)
Put the spinach in a large bowl. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
In a medium skillet, combine the oil, vinegars, shallot and thyme. Boil for 1 minute, and remove from the heat.
Reduce the heat under the boiling water to a bare simmer, and with a slotted spoon slip in the poached eggs; heat for a minute or two. Meanwhile, pour the warm dressing over the spinach. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Divide it among 4 plates, and top each with an egg.
Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 258 calories (75 percent from fat), 22.3 g fat (3.9 g saturated, 14.4 g monounsaturated), 211 mg cholesterol, 9.7 g protein, 7.2 g carbohydrates, 2.6 g fiber, 238.3 mg sodium.
