Poached Eggs atop Pan Seared Polenta with Roasted Tomatoes and Smoked Swiss
This dish started with my attempt to perfect the art of a beautifully poached egg. When I was at the Harvest Brunch at The Danforth Inn in Portland, Maine, and saw the poached egg that Chef Carmen Gonzales served us, I thought to myself, I must make a poached egg like that! Add leftover polenta from dinner the previous night, some roasted tomatoes and voila, breakfast was born!
The Polenta was simple – bring 5 cups of water, chicken or vegetable stock to a slow rolling boil, slowly add in 1 cup of polenta, making sure to whisk it in to prevent lumps. Continue stirring for about 20-30 minutes until it pulls away from the sides and has thickened. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Pour into a buttered 9×13 glass dish and refrigerate until firm, a couple hours.
Next, cut several Roma tomatoes in half, sprinkle with salt, pepper and a dash of sugar and roast at 350 for about 45 minutes. Add thinly sliced smoked Swiss cheese and keep in a warm oven while you work on the polenta.
Cut the polenta into triangles and pan fry in butter, a few minutes on each side, until browned. Keep warm in the oven with the tomatoes.
Now for the poached eggs. Bring a couple inches of water and a couple tablespoons of white vinegar to a boil in a sauce pan. Crack one egg per bowl and have ready to drop into the water. Lower the heat to barely a slow boil and with a whisk, stir very quickly to create a vortex, remove the whisk and carefully lower the egg into the center of the vortex. This helps keep the egg white from spreading and losing shape. Cook until desired doneness.
And the plating – always using a warmed plate, top with baby spinach (or other baby greens) a couple pieces of the polenta, top with roasted tomatoes and a poached egg on top. Salt and cracked pepper to taste. And you have a wonderful Italian inspired breakfast.
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