Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Fast forward.....


Ms Tagalong has just been unable to contain herself and bring you up to date gradually. Fast forward to the here and now. This weekend's occurrence has been so exciting that I just have to share it with you. Ms Mova and I planned this and talked about it but never really believed it would come to fruition. Miss Havisham and Estella have arrived!

In true Miss Havisham fashion she shamed Estella into being the first layer and an egg was promptly laid about an hour after arriving. But not to be outdone Miss Havisham dusted off her cobwebs and laid one the next day and the next together with another from Estella. Our resident animal expert cat chaser was feeding the chickens cockroaches, only about 50 of them, from the feed sack today so the next eggs should survive nuclear explosions. Spinach was picked, oodles of it, so I think a recipe for eggs Florentine might be in order!


A classic treat, eggs Florentine make a perfect Sunday breakfast or brunch.

Ingredients (serves 4)
8 thin bacon rashers
20g butter
2 bunches English spinach, trimmed, washed, dried
Dash of white vinegar
4 fresh eggs, at room temperature
4 slices ciabatta, sourdough or English muffins, toasted
Hollandaise sauce
1/4 cup (60ml) white wine vinegar
6 black peppercorns
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 egg yolks
200g unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp lemon juice
Method
To make the hollandaise sauce, combine the vinegar, peppercorns and shallot in a small saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes or until mixture reduces to 2 tsp. Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve.
Place the vinegar reduction and egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl over a saucepan that is half-filled with simmering water. Use a balloon whisk to whisk, while very gradually adding the melted butter in a thin, steady stream. Whisk until thick and creamy. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and ground white pepper. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Cover with foil and set aside.
Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add the bacon rashers and cook for 2 minutes each side or until crisp. Transfer to a plate. Melt the butter in the pan until foaming. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until spinach wilts. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add vinegar to a deep frying pan filled with water and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and bring to a gentle simmer. Crack 1 egg into a small cup. Use a large spoon to stir the water to create a whirlpool. Gently slide the egg into the water and poach for 1-2 minutes for a soft egg, or until cooked to your liking. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate. Cover loosely with aluminium foil to keep warm and repeat with the remaining eggs.
Place the toast on the serving plates. Spoon the spinach and bacon over the toast slices. Top with the poached eggs and drizzle with hollandaise sauce. Season with freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.
Notes & tips
Tip: Adding vinegar to the cooking water when you are poaching eggs will immediately set the eggwhite as it cooks, giving the final poached egg a better shape.
Check out Taste.com.au's latest collections including Thai recipes, pizza recipes as well as cookies & biscuit recipes. And it's not too early to start thinking about Christmas puddings and Christmas gift ideas either!
Source
Notebook: - July 2007, Page 119
Recipe by Sarah Hobbs


Enjoy the garden produce! I hope Ms Tagalong hasn't spoiled the story for you? I will resume, I promise.

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