Dinner Tonight: Mediterranean Poached Eggs
Source: (seriouseats.com)
One of my favorite pasta recipes is Pasta alla Puttanesca, which I've cooked before for this column. It's a haunting sauce of tomatoes, chile flakes, capers, and olives, and I can never get enough of the briny, sweet flavors and the punch of the capers. If you're into that sort of thing, this recipe for Mediterranean Poached Eggs from Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express, a cool little collection of 20-minute recipes, didn't fall far from the Puttanesca tree.
Bittman's addition is some sliced mushrooms, which release their liquid as they cook into the mixture; that round, meaty flavor binds the ingredients together. Slivers of fresh basil leaf stirred into the end give it that hit of fresh herbiness. This could be served as shown, on thick slices of rustic bread, which is how Bittman recommends it. But next time I'd just put it in a small bowl with the poached egg laid on top, bread on the side—much easier to eat. Either way, it's a fast meal that's big on flavor.
About the author: Blake Royer founded The Paupered Chef with Nick Kindelsperger, where he writes about food and occasional travels. After a year in Estonia, he's now living in Chicago.
Mediterranean Poached Eggs
- serves 2 -
Adapted from Kitchen Express by Mark Bittman.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup pitted black olives
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 plum tomatoes, chopped (or use canned)
2 tablespoons capers
Small handful basil leaves, slivered
2 eggs
2-4 thick slices peasant bread, toasted (depending on size)
Procedure
1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat and add the garlic and onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft, then add the olives, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Simmer as the mushrooms release their juices to form a sauce.
2. In the meantime, bring a small pot of water to boil with a splash of vinegar and poach the eggs until the whites are set and the yolk is still runny, about 3 minutes in barely simmering water.
3. Stir in the capers and basil leaves into the mushroom mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toast the bread. Either spread the mushroom mixture onto the bread and top with poached eggs, or put the mixture in individual bowls and top with the eggs, bread on the side. Serve.
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Dinner Tonight: Mediterranean Poached Eggs
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