Poached Egg and Asparagus Salad with Bruschetta continued
METHOD Asparagus Salad 1.
Put water on to boil in a medium pot
2.
Thoroughly wash hands with soap, rinse and dry completely
3.
Trim and peel the asparagus. Snap off the ‘woody’ end
4.
Blanch the asparagus and refresh with iced water
5.
Add white vinegar to a pot of boiling water, and turn down the heat so to a simmer
6.
Stir the water as the swirling action will help shape the egg whites nicely
7.
Crack eggs onto a small plate one at a time and slide them into the middle of the swirling water in the pot and poach for 2-3 minutes, with no more than 2 in the pot at any one time
8.
Place the asparagus in the middle of the plate, top with watercress and chives
9.
When the eggs are poached remove them with perforated spoon and place them on a dry clean tea towel to dry and remove any excess egg white threads. Ideally egg yolk should be quite runny
10. Place egg on top of the asparagus and drizzle with oil, vinegar 11. Season and serve Bruschetta 1.
Thoroughly wash hands with soap, rinse and dry completely
2.
Slice bread. It’s probably a good idea to cut the pieces of bread in half so they are a little more manageable (bite sized is called crostini)
3.
Brush slices of bread with olive oil and toast
4.
Remove and rub with peeled garlic
5.
Put on dinner plate or platter
6.
Place asparagus on top of toasted slices of bread (bruschetta)
7.
Place egg on top of asparagus
8.
Serve with watercress and chives
9.
Don’t forget napkins!
CHEF’S TIPS ABOUT ASPARAGUS Green asparagus is the most common type. White asparagus is seasonal, and is grown in the ground. It has an earthier, nuttier flavour that is quite different to green asparagus Store asparagus ends in water if they are not going to be eaten on the day of purchase. Fresh asparagus should snap when bent You may want to peel ends, and remove any branches from the asparagus spear for better presentation
CHEF’S TIPS FOR POACHING EGGS A fresh egg will have a convex yolk, the higher it rises when sitting on a plate, the fresher it is. Always crack an egg onto a separate plate before adding to a recipe just in case it is spoiled When poaching the egg, let the water simmer, not boil Stir the water just before placing egg in as the whirlpool effect © Dalton Corporation 2002 - 2011
She Cooks Home Cooking Cookbook
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