Don’t get me wrong – I adore Eggs Benedict, Eggs Florentine, all those “poached eggs on an English muffin with really rich sauce” dishes. But, sometimes I just do not have the time to make the sauces and sometimes they just too rich for breakfast.
This weekend, I did a variation that worked beautifully. No recipe is really needed because these are stand alone items that come together beautiful, look great on a plate and taste even better.
Poached Eggs with Grilled Asparagus served on Batard and garnished with Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, Lemon Zest and Chive Garnish.
Doesn’t this sound great. But, all the components are easy and fresh. And, you can really add anything that appeals to you, such as proscuitto or grilled tomato.
I keep a hot grill pan on the back of my stovetop. I generally steam the aparagus until almost finished, shock in ice water to stop the cooking, dry off and lightly coat with olive oil, a bit of salt and pepper. Then, just put on the grill pan until grill marks appear. I do the same with the sliced batard bread, with a light drizzle of good olive oil.
Follow your own recipe for poached eggs (I use Julia Child’s) Remember that you can poach the eggs ahead of time and hold in a bath of 120 degree water until you need them. Or, you can use sunny-side-up eggs or eggs over-easy.
Layer the grilled batard, the grilled asparagus, the poached egg and lightly season with salt and pepper. Using a vegetable peeler, shave Parmegiano Reggiano over the eggs, zest a small amount of lemon over and sprinkle with fresh chopped chives. I served this with a tomato basil salad.
Buon Appetito!