Poached: Making Breakfast Fancy

One of my favorite things to cook in this world are poached eggs. There's something about them that make a dish seem fancy and they're actually really quick and easy to prepare despite their appearance of looking quite complicated. They are also super versatile in that they can be served for breakfast, as a light lunch or even as an appetizer before dinner.

I've done posts on poached eggs before but since then I've come up with a few more plating creations that I would like to share along with some brief tips on how to make and plate them. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

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The ingredients themselves aren't overly important. Poached eggs go with just about any vegetable and spice. The main thing is that you want a variety of flavors and textures and foods with bright colors to make them look more delectable.

My staples include:

• Balsamic Glaze
• Olive Oil
• Dijon Mustard (yellow and grainy)
• Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
• Arugala or Fresh Herbs (ex. Basil)
• Shallots
• Cheese
• Bread
• Corse Salt and Pepper

I also sometimes use:

• Potato in place of the bread
• Chili Flakes
• Zucchini
• Radishes
• Garlic

You also need vinegar for the poaching process and of course an egg.

I find that chopping the vegetables small and fine also adds to the overall look of the dish.

Poaching Directions

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The poaching part is easy so I am going to be brief about it.

Bring water to a boil and reduce down until the bubbles stop.

Pour in a little vinegar to help the egg stay together.

Crack the egg into a small bowl.

Swirl the water slightly and gently drop in the egg. This helps the egg white stay together.

Set a timer and poach the egg for 3 minutes and 15 - 30 seconds. This will ensure that the yolk stays runny, which in my opinion is the most important feature of a poached egg.

If the yolk isn't at least a little runny, than all you have is a boiled egg.

Remove the egg with a small strainer or slotted spoon and set aside for a minute to dry. You can trim the egg if you want it to look prettier (remove the loose bits on the edges) but it's not necessary.

When I use a potato in place of the bread I generally cut the potato in half and steem it until soft and cooked but not starchy and mushy. You don't want it to crumble when you cut into it.

It takes around 5 to 10 minutes to steem and you have to keep checking it with a knife as you go along. You could also microwave it if you prefer.

Add the zucchini a little later or remove it sooner so that it doesn't overcook and lose its color.

Plating

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Plating the eggs is surprisingly easy but I'll share my method with you here.

The trick is that you start from the bottom and work your way up.

I start with the oil and balsamic vinegar and create some sort of pattern - sort of like an abstract painting. Generally I use more oil if I'm serving it with potato, but in the case above I think I over did it a bit. When I serve the egg on bread I generally only use a little oil.

This is a good amount for the potato option, I think.

Next I place the tomatoes or radishes followed by the potato or bread. When you use a potato you have to make sure that both sides are flat so that the egg doesn't slide off.

Then I put on some zucchini.

Next I place the egg on top, followed by the mustard and arugala or herbs. Sometimes I stick a slice of hard cheese to the mustard as well.

Next, I might sprinkle on chili flakes or finely chopped shallots for some added flavor and/or texture.

More Plating Options

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Here are a few different plating options. Part of the fun of making poached eggs is experimenting with how they look. They always turn out a little different.

The photos of the finished product give the impression that the dish is very complicated and that it takes a lot of time to prepare.

But in all honesty the entire process only takes about 5 minutes from start to finish. I do most of the chopping and plating while the water is boiling and the egg is cooking and then after that it's just a matter of placing the egg with some mustard and herbs on it.

It's easy peasy to make breakfast fancy.

Well thats it for now, thanks for stopping by.