Perfect Poached Eggs

I like to use olive oil or, as in this picture, ajvar to spread my toast with instead of butter. You know, for when you invite me for brunch?


Poached eggs were always something I only ate at cafes as I never got the hang of them. And cleaning the pot afterwards with all that scunge - yeah, nah. But they SEEM pretty simple right, it's not a souffle, just an egg! So I got over my pride at thinking 'one' shouldn't need a recipe to cook an egg and finally turned to Elizabeth David's 'French Provincial Cooking'. (It seems all my other cookbooks assume a knowledge of poaching ability). Now I can do them! And the pot (non-stick kind - does that make a difference?) stays clean!

NB This recipe is for cooking eggs one at a time but at the end I'll give a tip on storing and reheating them till you're ready.

Boil a large pan of water (Elizabeth David suggests a deep frying-pan is better than a saucepan) with about 1 T white wine vinegar. Break each egg into a saucer. Boil water then reduce heat to a simmer (big bubbles can make egg tough and cause bits to break apart). When water is at a gentle simmer, make a whirlpool in the centre by whirling the water around with a wooden spoon. Slide an egg into the middle of this whirlpool and keep the water whirling around as it begins to set and water comes back to a simmer. Remove pan from heat, cover it, and leave 2 1/2 -3 minutes for just cooked with runny yolk and about 4 minutes for a firmer white with partially set yolk.

Remove egg with a slotted spoon and if using right away, blot with a paper towel (or you can rest egg for a moment on a spare crust of bread) before placing egg on toast/plate (you don't want to make your toast soggy!)

If you are doing a few eggs, try this:
Get a bowl of cold water ready with a few icecubes in it (don't crowd bowl with them or they could damage egg). Place the bowl on the bench next to the stove.
As you remove the first egg with the slotted spoon, place it carefully straight in the iced bowl of water. This stops the egg cooking and preserves it until you're ready to serve it.
Repeat with the other eggs (ie. cook them as instructed, remove from pan and place in bowl). The iced water will help the egg stay firm enough that you can actually pick it up but it will still be soft inside. If you want to cook your eggs well in advance and serve later, just put the bowl of eggs-in-iced-water in the fridge until you're ready to reheat them.
To reheat eggs, bring a fresh pan of water to a simmer. No vinegar this time! Leave eggs in for a very short time (just about 15 seconds) to warm through. If you leave too long they will overcook and you'll lose that runny centre. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel / bread crust before serving on toast/muffin/whatever.

General tips for poaching eggs:
-vinegar helps coagulate the white (so it stays together nicely and the pot is easier to clean!)
- eggs of the day (if you have your own chickens, say) can be hard to poach as the whites tend to fly about a lot. Old eggs can be tough and white and yolk can separate. The best are 2-3 day old eggs.
- don't try to poach eggs in vigorously boiling water - the whole idea of poaching is that it's a gentle business.
- free-range organic eggs taste best and are most nutritious. But then, who eats cage eggs these days anyway?
- some people, Elizabeth David included, recommend putting the whole egg (in its shell) into boiling water for 10-30 seconds prior to breaking egg into a saucer. This is supposed to create a partially coagulated layer to help keep the egg together. I haven't found this step necessary. Some people even make a wee hole into the air pouch of the egg (at the 'fat' end of the egg) to let the water in during this stage. A lot of bother for what?