February 7, 2017

Poached Egg on Avocado-and-Smoked Salmon Toast

Name: Poached Egg on Avocado-and-Smoked Salmon Toast
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 whole grain or rye bread slices, toasted; 1/2 avocado; 1 lemon wedge; 2 slices of smoked salmon; 2 eggs, fresh possible; 1/2 tsp vinegar; salt; ground black pepper (optional); fresh herbs for garnish, finely chopped (chives, dill, parsley)

When our son Peter lived with us in our house, on Mother’s Days he was making for me a special breakfast (with my husband’s help, of course). Initially, when he was younger, it was a French toast, and later, in high school, I enjoyed his more complicated creation of a poached egg with smoked salmon (thanks to the internet recipe collection). Since then, a delicious poached egg-and-salmon combination became one of our family special occasion breakfast traditions.

For a long time I was ‘scared’ to make poached eggs – they didn’t always look perfectly rounded and smooth, as you can get at a good restaurant or will see on a cooking show. But then I thought: ‘Who cares? This is not for a ‘demo’, this is for my family’. Even though sometimes the eggs come out with ‘feathers and angles’, they are still as delicious, as they would be ‘in a perfect shape’.

After that, I’ve made hundreds of poached eggs for salads, pasta, fish, sandwiches, potatoes, other vegetables, and pancakes… Sometimes they turned out perfect, at other times – not so much.

So, this mysteriously shaped poached egg on a whole grain-avocado-and-smoked salmon sandwich accompanied with Kir Royal or Bellini cocktail is on my breakfast menu for this coming Valentine’s Day. It will be so delightful and memorable breakfast!

This is a breathtaking poached egg with salmon made for me by my son Peter:

Preparation

Slice the avocado or puree it with a fork. Season it with salt and drizzle with lemon juice.

Top toasted bread slices with the avocado, and then with the salmon slices.

Bring a wide pan or a wide saucepan with some water to a boil. Lower the heat, so water is gently simmering, and add the vinegar.

Carefully crack the eggs into two ramekins or small bowls.

Carefully drop the egg into the water, helping the whites to get together with a spoon. Add another egg. Let them cook for 3 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the eggs, one by one, onto a paper towel lined plate. Gently dry them with the paper towel and cut off excess whites (on the sides of the eggs) with a spoon.

Top each avocado-salmon sandwich with the egg, season the eggs with salt and pepper (if using), and garnish with fresh herbs.

Serve immediately.

Option:

The sandwich with avocado and poached egg (without salmon) is very delicious as well.