poached egg over brioche with pistou

I must confess something. Prior to this meal, I have never poached an egg. I have eaten poached eggs, but I have never made them myself. It has been on my to do list for some time. So, today, I poached my first egg.

basil

I made the pistou in my mini food processor using some basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic. My basil plant died this winter, so I had to buy some for this dish. I fully intend to have basil in my new garden. Did I mention I’m going to be starting my first garden? It’s very exciting.

brioche

Our local bakery, The Flour Pot, makes a wonderful brioche. I picked up a loaf this morning, and it took all I could do to resist eating it before lunch.

organic brown eggs

I toasted a slice of brioche, shaved some parmesan cheese over the toast, topped it with one poached egg, and then sprinkled the pistou and some fleur de sel over the top. It was fabulous. And gone within about 30 seconds.

a delicious lunch

Lessons learned today:

  1. Poaching an egg is not rocket science, but it’s not the easiest thing either. I’m sure with practice I’ll figure out how to get rid of those trailing strands of egg white.
  2. Poached eggs are divine.
  3. Pistou is a great addition for ramping up flavor. So is fleur de sel.
  4. I need a personal photographer to capture some of the more interesting steps of the process – like the egg poaching part. I’m not sure my husband will give up his day job, though. I can’t pay that well.
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9 Responses to “poached egg over brioche with pistou”

  1. 1
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    JillEDuffy — March 10, 2010 @ 2:18 pm

    Isn’t everything better with a runny egg on top? I have been practicing my poaching skills for 2 years now, and it’s still a bit hit or miss. The vinegar trick helps tremendously (add a splash of wine or red wine vinegar to the simmering water before dropping the egg to help it coagulate).

    • 1.1
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      merrygourmet — March 10, 2010 @ 2:23 pm

      Ooh – I’ll have to try the vinegar next time. I’ve read about that and totally forgot to incorporate it here.

  2. 2
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    Leigh (Modern Mommy) — March 10, 2010 @ 8:40 pm

    I’ll gladly take pictures for you. I’ll accept payment in the form of food. 😉

  3. 3
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    jenmenke — March 12, 2010 @ 11:17 am

    looks so good. I have a funny story. I was trying to make a meal of ramen-type japanese curry noodles into more of a meal for lunch this weekend when I was sick and thought “poached egg!” (I, too, had never poached an egg before. It was a disaster with all the other stuff in the broth, so I quickly stirred it up and turned it into more of an “eggdrop soup”. Funny that I should read this just days after!

  4. 4
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    merrygourmet — March 12, 2010 @ 8:39 pm

    Sounds like you improvised nicely, Jen. 🙂

  5. 5
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    Tiny Urban Kitchen — March 17, 2010 @ 8:14 pm

    Runny eggs over toast – the best combination! Occasionally I will ask my husband to take pictures of me while I’m cooking (because I don’t have three hands!). Other times I contort in funny angles in order to try and take the photo with my left hand while my right hand is cooking. Not easy!

    • 5.1
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      merrygourmet — March 17, 2010 @ 8:40 pm

      It’s a challenge when you only have two arms. I need to invest in a tripod – that will help, I think. In the meantime, I’m using my husband as the all-purpose helper. 🙂

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