Thursday, August 1, 2013

Recipe: Poached egg with smoked salmon and grilled asparagus

One of the best breakfasts to wake up to in the morning is poached eggs. Simple, yes, but what an amazing sight when you poke the yolk and it just oozes out. I like to call that 'a little sunshine on the plate'.


Poached egg with smoked salmon and grilled asparagus


Eating a breakfast which contains eggs will help fuel your body and mind. A recent scientific study shows that eating eggs for breakfast can also help overweight dieters lose more weight, lower their body mass index, and shrink their waist more than people who eat a bagel breakfast of equal calories. People who eat eggs for breakfast also tend to feel more satisfied and eat fewer calories in the next meal. See more incredible egg tips here. 

Asparagus has a wonderful affinity with eggs, and I actually find myself pairing these together a lot of the time. To make this an even more luxurious breakfast, I am serving it with some Scottish smoked salmon. Ah yes, this was definitely one of the best breakfasts we had in Scotland while on holiday. If you're in the UK, try Sainsbury's Taste the Difference range, which I have loved for years.



Taste the Difference Chestnut Smoked Scottish Salmon with Lemon Oil and Basil

There are a few ways for cooking the perfect poached egg. One that I always use in KL is the whirlpool method or the cling film method. However, if you can get your hands on very fresh eggs (in the UK just pick any box of free range eggs off the supermarket shelf and it will be super fresh - I am so jealous!), all you need to do is bring a pot of salted water to the boil, then lower to a simmer, and drop the eggs into the water. No need for whirlpools and cling films, this works everytime! To know if your egg is super fresh, when you break it into a bowl, it will have a rounded plump yolk and the egg white will be gathered closely around the yolk and has a thicker, gelatinous layer. As it becomes less fresh, the egg white gradually becomes more "watery" hence why we need to use cling films to keep the white from disintegrating in the water. Another method to tell if the eggs are fresh is to immerse them in water - see photo 3 on this page.

The rich, silky yolk enveloping the tender asparagus tips and complemented by the slightly salty smoked salmon makes this a winning dish!



And after that wonderful breakfast of poached egg with smoked salmon and grilled asparagus, we moved on to another gorgeous meat and cheese platter put together by Hubby. Here we have French brie (we didn't eat the whole thing in one sitting, don't worry), prosciutto (Parma ham), cherry tomatoes, Walker cheese and onion crisps, and 100% Iberico chorizo.

A gorgeous meat and cheese platter



Poached egg with smoked salmon and grilled asparagus
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 2 minutes
Cooking time: under 10 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients
2 fresh large free-range eggs (at room temperature)
8 stalks British asparagus, woody ends trimmed and discarded
60g (1/2 pack) Scottish smoked salmon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Fill a small saucepan about half-full with water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to the boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce to a low heat to a bare simmer. Break the eggs into a small bowl and slide into the water. Cook the eggs for 2-3 minutes, until the egg white has set and yolk is cooked to your liking. Once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and rest the spoon on kitchen paper for few seconds to absorb any excess water.

2. For the asparagus, spread evenly on a baking tray, then drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place under a hot grill for 5-6 minutes and cook until tender. Turn halfway through.

3. To serve, wrap the smoked salmon around the asparagus ends, then place the poached egg on top. Season with some salt and pepper. Serve immediately.






*I am submitting this to the Little Thumbs Up "Egg" event organized by Bake for Happy Kidsmy little favourite DIY and hosted by me (Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out). You can link your egg recipes here.


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34 comments:

  1. Your poached egg with asparagus looks so good!

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  2. ivy sew http://simplybeautifulhealthyliving.blogspot.comAugust 1, 2013 at 12:28 PM

    Baby Sumo, very beautiful poached egg you have. This is indeed perf-egg to match it with salmon :)

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  3. You are a poached egg master! I love the eggs & the smoked salmon. It's the best way to appreciate the taste of egg!

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    1. Jessie, everyone can be a poached egg master if they have fresh eggs in front of them. Definitely not difficult. :)

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  4. Hi Yen,

    You are a pro in poaching eggs! I guess you must cooking and eating poached eggs a lot at home. This is the breakfast that I need to eat for training... with all good fat and protein, I think I will be a muscular Zoe but sadly, I didn't have these for my breakfast :( and so I'm flabby Zoe - LOL!

    Zoe

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    1. Hi Zoe, yes we have poached eggs quite often. We like to add it in noodle dishes or have it for breakfast. And no way you're flabby! I'm the one who's called Sumo here. LOL!

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  5. Hi, where can I buy the smoked salmon that you are using? thankss =)

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    1. Hi, the Scottish smoked salmon shown in the photo above is from Sainsburys in UK. If you are based in KL then u can try one of the supermarkets such as BIG, Jusco or Cold Storage - they usually have Norwegian smoked salmon, near the fish dept.

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  6. What a breakfast treat and beautifully poached eggs. Do you always have it like it is or with hollandaise sauce?

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    1. Hi Lian I usually skip the Hollandaise at home, too lazy to make. :P Esp at breakfast time, prefer to be quick.

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  7. wah yolk porn is really alluring :D

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    1. Thank you, many more yolkporn to come this month :)

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  8. Yen, I love the poached eggs you have! It is so yummy to go with smoked salmon!

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    1. Scottish smoked salmon is my absolute favorite, I used to buy it often to treat myself on weekends. Nowadays I only get to eat it when I am on holiday.

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  9. Oooooo.....I love your poached eggs. Absolutely perfect. I can never get it right - will end up with a whole mess swirling and swimming in the water. Sobssss!!!!!

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    1. The eggs are probably not fresh enough. Have u tried cling film method? The cling film can resist quite high heat so you dont have to worry about it melting in the hot water. It's one of the easiest way to cook paoched egg. Maybe you can try that.

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  10. The eggs look absolutely beautiful and I'm sure it tastes amazing paired with smoked salmon and asparagus :)

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  11. gorgeous egg, really fresh-looking asparagus, and i'm intrigued by this brand of smoked salmon. it's only august 1, but i suspect this will be the nicest-looking breakfast dish that i'll see this month! :D

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    1. Aww Sean, it's only 1 Aug but I think that would be one of the sweetest comments I'll receive this month. You made my day :)

      Not sure if you have tried Scottish smoked salmon but it's fantastic!

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  12. Thanks for the tips on how to check the fresh egg!

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  13. I love having eggs in the morning! They're so energising and I love seeing a sunny coloured yolk :)

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    1. The egg yolks here in KL tend to be more on the yellow side. I love the orange ones that you get with free range chickens abroad. :)

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  14. Delicious plate! I wish someone would pamper me with this lovely breakfast!! :)

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  15. I’ll have to give this delicious looking recipe a try.

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  16. What a great way to start the day! Delicious & healthy breakfast ! YUMMY! ;)

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  17. We haven't tried poached eggs in our weekend kitchen yet, should try it one day, hehe.

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  18. Yen, I think you're one of the few who can make a perfect poached egg ;D The last photo is the best !

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  19. poached egg, asparagus and smoked salmon - woaa... what a way to start a day! *slurp!

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  20. Perfection!! I love the combo of salmon and dill. Never thought of poaching. Great idea :)

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  21. I've tried many times, my poached egg, always disastrous. Sobssss!!!!

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