There are nights where I come home from work ready to tackle a big long cooking project. And then there are the other (frequent!) nights where I come home exhausted with the delivery menus in hand. And then I remember the poached egg. What was once a sad heap of roasted vegetables becomes dinner, magically!
I throw a dash of distilled white vinegar in a pot of water and, by the time I have a salad or dish of leftover pasta ready, I plop in an egg and dinner is half way to ready. Cook four to five minutes and add to vegetables, rice, or even soup, it's the perfect solution to a quick weeknight dinner. I used to fear the poaching process, panicking a little on my first try as the egg neglected to stay in a nice, self-contained pouch. I've since developed a pattern of swirling the water, setting a timer and gently retrieving the egg with a mesh ladle. I even hesitate to order poached eggs at restaurants now that I have perfected my own method!
A few weeknight ready recipes featuring poached eggs:
• Best Simple Supper: Miso Soup with Rice & Poached Egg
• Poached Egg over Polenta with Olive-Herb Pesto
• Recipe: Asparagus with Poached Egg, Tarragon and Chives
Related: Perfectly Poached: Some Tips and Tricks for Poaching Eggs
(Images: Faith Durand)
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Thank you for this reminder. I forget about how good it is.
There's no losing with a poached egg. always delivers that warm and comforting feeling with the added bonus of fantastic taste! In Peru we have a quick meal called arroz a la cubana. It is what people cook whenever they don't have the time, the cerativity, or the money. It's basically rice with fried egg and fried banana. Always delicious!
I do the same thing, except with a quick over-easy egg. Put an egg on it and it's a meal! It's magic.
Ever since The Kitchn posted the microwave method for poaching an egg, I haven't done it any other way. Literally in 2 minutes, I have my perfectly poached egg. I've had it on toast, polenta, rice, salad. It's a quick and healthy meal.
I've gotten my kids to now eat poached eggs over things. Our favorite is a potato chicken hash with peppers and lots of paprika. Put a poached egg of that and it's all kinds of amazing.
agreed! put an egg on it!
i just made this kale salad last night, heated the dressing to wilt the leaves a bit, and then added a poached egg on top. it was delicious, nutritious, and all the other "icious". also, the men folk ate it up even though it was green and healthy.
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/RCP02206/Tuscan-Kale-Salad.html
I love a poached egg served on top of very crispy hash browns mixed with a little bit of caramelized onions. I often make a batch of hash browns and freeze in individual containers. Also make a lot of caramelized onions and freeze them in ice cube trays, then transfer the cubes to a zip lock. Makes for a very quick and satisfying dinner when time is short.