Poaching Perfection - Daring Cooks 12/10

Poached Egg on Grilled Romaine w/ Bacon Vinaigrette

Have you ever poached an egg? I mean poached without a "this will make it look like a poached egg" device? It's much simpler than you think. I warn you; once you do one, it's hard to stop playing with dropping the raw eggs into hot water and watching them become a balloon of golden comfort food.
Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.

Now, for the grilling - it was done inside the house, in my fav pan: a La Creuset grill pan. No, as much as I'd love to be given a free La Creuset...anything, they did not sponsor this "rave". I just wanted to pass along the pan power. :D I'm sure there are other grill pans that also work well. Basically you just want the pan to be heavy (cast iron) and durable (cast iron) and have the raised grill stripes.

To those of you who may be thinking, "Why would I cook lettuce, why would I purposely make my lettuce soggy?" I offer that grilling greens gives them a nice smokey flavor and they're on the heat just long enough to wilt and create a wonderful mixture of saute and crisp. This is a classic French Bistro Salad, often served with varied greens.
Then, there's the Bacon Vinaigrette - 'nuff said, am I right? There is no wrong time for bacon and eggs. The combo in this dish gives you the balance of buttery eggs that burst into their own sauce, on top of smokey greens with the tangy/sweet/savory bite of bacon and vinaigrette. Top this with a shaved shard of true Parmigiano Reggiano cheese that kicks up a natural salty zing and you have a full meal on a luncheon size plate.

RECIPE: Poached Eggs on Grilled Romaine with Bacon Vinaigrette-

Poaching the Egg-

1) Bring a deep sided sauce or saute pan filled 3/4 with water to a low simmer (not boiling)
2) Add 1 Tbls. vinegar to the water (it helps with keeping the egg together as it cooks).
3) Crack open the egg and drop the raw egg into the water gently (or put the egg into a cup first so you can control the gentle drop).
4) Cook the egg (s) for 3-4 minutes until the whites are set, but the yellow is definitely runny.
5) Remove with a slotted spoon and keep in cold water until ready to reheat and serve.

Bacon Vinaigrette:

3 pieces of bacon
1/2 shallot (minced)
2 Tbls Champagne Vinegar (or white balsamic, or other flavor)
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 Tbls Bacon fat (from cooking the bacon)
pepper to taste


1) Fry 3 pieces of bacon in a pan til crisp. Remove the bacon and all but 1 Tbls. of the rendered grease. Chop the bacon into small bits and hold.
2) In a bowl, whisk together well the 1 Tbls. left over bacon fat, shallots, vinegar, mustard, and pepper.
3) Drizzle the Olive oil, whisking constantly until the vinaigrette is emulsified (or holds together and thickened) Set aside for serving.

Grilled Romaine:

1) Wash and dry completely several stalks of Romaine Lettuce.
2) Spray (or wipe) the grilling pan with olive oil and heat on Med/High until hot.
3) Lay the Romaine lettuce leaves out as flat as possible and allow grill marks to show, then remove to a platter for serving as soon as possible.

SERVING:

Reheat the poached eggs by placing them in a bowl of very hot water for just a couple minutes
Lay out the Grilled Romaine, top with a poached egg.
Drizzle the Bacon Vinaigrette over the egg, and sprinkle with the cooked bacon.
Garnish with a thinly shaved piece of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Here are a few tips from the Daring Cooks this month:

 Make sure to use the freshest eggs possible. Farm-fresh eggs will make for the best poached eggs. Old eggs will have a harder time with the whites spreading out all over the place when you place the egg in the water.
 Adding a bit of vinegar or acidic agent to your water will help stabilize the eggs and cook the whites faster, and keeping your water just below boiling point (about 190F) will help keep the fragile eggs from all the boiling bubble action rupturing the eggs. Also make sure to salt your poaching water well.
 The other main key to success is to crack your egg into a small bowl first, taking care not to break the yolk. Then it becomes easy to gently slide the entire egg into the water for the poaching process. Some people will also suggest swirling the poaching liquid into a bit of a vortex before sliding the egg in, in order to help keep the egg whites together. I’ve found it works fine whether or not you do this step.
 A poached egg is done when the whites are fully cooked and the yolk has just started to solidify but is still runny when you cut it open – usually three minutes. It’s ok to go a little longer though depending on your desired firmness. I like mine so the edges of yolks are cooking but the inside is still runny, so I usually let them go 30s longer.
 You can poach eggs ahead of time (about a day). Just immerse them in ice water after poaching, and then keep them in a bowl of water in the fridge. When you are ready to use them, place them in hot (not boiling) water until they are warmed through.

Enjoy and for another easy recipe on Poaching Fish from ShowFoodChef - click HERE.

If You Can Boil Water, You Can Poach Fish - Simple Saturday

In the time it takes you to make rice, you could have a nice piece of poached fish to go on top of it. Poaching is one of those cooking terms that send the new or non-cook running to a take-out joint. Even if you cook a lot, it may be a technique you've forgotten about.
Here's how easy it is:

POACHED TILAPIA
in a
LEMON & CAPERS BUTTER SAUCE

1) Choose a liquid and pour about 1-2 inches of it in a skillet (add flavors that you make you hungry), including something with a tang (acid), like white wine, lemon juice, or light vinegar.

2) Bring it to boil, then turn down a little to just barely simmer
3) Put in your fish
4) Cover the pan and cook for 5-10 minutes (depending on size or amount of fish).
Ta Da! You've poached! Now just a few great things about poaching, besides how easy it is:

1) This is a light and healthy way to prepare fish, no extra oils or fats are required in cooking.
2) Poaching is excellent for firm white fish, ie. Tilapia, Red Snapper, Halibut.
3) Infusing the liquid adds lots of flavor to the fish without processed additives.
4) The cooking liquid can be used as a sauce or base for fish soup at another time.
5) Poached fish is delicious served warm or chilled (makes an excellent light summer meal).

RECIPE: Lemon and Caper Poached Tilapia

1) In a skillet, add water (about 2 inches for fillets), lemon slices, fresh thyme, basil, a few peppercorns, dash of salt, few sprigs of fresh parsley. (*You can also add even more flavor by cooking a handful of chopped onions in a bit of olive oil before adding the water)
2) Cooking on Med. High, bring the liquid just to a boil and then turn in down to Low/Med.
3) Add your fish to the liquid (it should come about half way up the fish, not over the fish)
4) Cover the skillet and just simmer (not boiling) for 10 minutes.
5) Remove the fish and hold warm while you make a sauce with the remaining liquid.
6) Cook the liquid on Med/High until it has reduced (cooked down) about half-way.
7) Strain out the lemons and spices, etc.. and return the liquid to the skillet again.
8) Continue to cook on low, adding 1 tbls cold butter and whisking continuously.
9) Finally add 1 Tbls. capers, stir and serve the sauce spooned over the fish.
Now here's the most fun part - OPTIONS!

The liquid is up to you and your culinary imagination: fish stock, soup stock, orange juice, coconut milk, tea - go for it. Just remember that it does balance better with a touch of tang, something with acid like a drizzle of white wine, or citrus or a vinegar.

The flavors (aromatics) are up to you, think about what would go together and try it: spices, herbs, rubs, sauces, condiments, seeds and juices.

Let me know what you try, it's always fun for me too!