Growing up in Canada, poaching wasn’t the preferred way of having eggs. In the 80s and 90s, they were often hard boiled when served at lunchtime: egg and mayo salad sandwiches were right up there next to ham and cheese on all the coffee shop menus. For breakfast, they were either scrambled, fried or in an omelette. Salmonella was a concern, dietary cholesterol was evil, runny yokes were out and egg white omelettes were becoming a thing. Where were the poached eggs you ask? In restaurants, under the name “eggs Benedict”.
These days, a lot has changed. Our understanding of dietary cholesterol has evolved (yes eggs are high in a cholesterol but most people aren’t that affected by it), we’ve learned that benefits to eating runny eggs exist (heating can destroy certain useful ezymes), we’ve concluded that albeit protein-packed, egg whites aren’t very tasty and let’s face it: a perfectly poached egg with a runny center looks gorgeous on Instagram….You see them everywhere from burgers to salads. And of course, they are particularly good on a toast with my current fave foodie trend: avocado butter. Hope you like it!
NOTE: About the avocado butter, it’s also really really good served on grilled fish or poultry.
Ingredients
- 1 ripe avocado
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 2 tbsp butter
- A few sprigs of cilantro, chopped
- 1 organic egg
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 1 slice of gluten free bread
- Sea salt
- A few shavings of pecorino or other dry aged hard cheese (optional)
Instructions
- In a blender, place the avocado, butter, cilantro and salt. Blitz until smooth and pour into a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and lower the heat to simmer. Add vinegar.
- Carefully crack the egg open and gently poor it into a small bowl or ramekin
- With a whisk or fork, mix the water to create a whirlpool and carefully tip in the egg
- Let simmer for 3 minutes
- Meanwhile toast your bread and spread with some avocado butter
- Remove egg with a slotted spoon and place on the avocado butter toast
- Season with a pinch of salt and serve with some grated pecorino and freshly ground pepper