A little bit of heaven in the morning

I love poached eggs. Cooking them, eating them. There’s a trick to it. Not everyone can do it. It’s a challenge. Heat and timing must be impeccable. A few seconds too long and the yolk is over cooked, too little and the yolk is runnier than most people enjoy or the white is still gelatinous.

A perfectly poached egg, in my opinion, is one that has that balance of yolk cooked around the outer edge, but still just a trickle of liquid in the center. Not a gush when you cut into it, but a slow ooze. Creating a ‘dip’ for your bacon or sausage. Or toast points, when I ate them.

Recently, I learned from Louise over at Ancestral Chef  a ‘new-to-me’ technique of swirling the water before sliding the eggs in (don’t crack the eggs into the pan, that gets messy – crack them into a cup or bowl and pour them with a smooth gesture at a moderate speed into the water when it comes to temperature).

I added that swirl technique this morning and took perfection to a whole new level.The wisps wrapped around the yolk and formed a perfect solid of white next to the yolk without disturbing that inner yolk balance.

Divine.

Don’t those look gorgeous?

My preferred way to eat poached eggs is over asparagus that have been very briefly tossed in hot coconut oil with a little salt & pepper and garlic. But I’m currently on a FODMAP eating plan and asparagus are to be avoided. Instead, I’ve been wilting a handful of spinach in hot coconut oil and tossing it with some red pepper flake. Then sprinkling the eggs with an African spice blend called Peri Peri (or Berbere, depending on who tells you what the spice blend is called).  I almost always have sausage on the side. You know, for dipping into that perfect yolk drip.

Today, I’m wishing I had bought some flaked crab from the market. Whip up a batch of Hollandaise… *sigh* If you’ve never had poached eggs with real crab meat, you’re missing out. It’s not an everyday thing, very rich flavors, and can get quite costly depending on where you live, but it makes a spectacular treat. Poach the eggs, plate them, flake the crab over them and drizzle the Hollandaise. The heat from the egg and the Hollandaise will heat the crab meat if it’s been chilled. Then sprinkle lightly with peri peri or some other red seasoning of your choice. The color makes the food “pop” visually. If you eat breads, you’ll be tempted to put this on an English muffin. Try it without first. You won’t be sorry. (Save your carbs for a sinful pastry later ~) Add some greens of your choice and viola’! Fabulous.

Did I mention my avocado addiction? There’s nothing that can’t be made better with avocado

If you try it, come back and tell me about it. I’d love to hear what you paired your perfectly poached eggs with.

~ Namaste ~

*Links to Ancestral Chef provided with permission. Check out Louise’s blog for some fabulous recipes