Poached Eggs with Creamy Basil Sauce

In these cold winter months, my boyfriend and I love to spend the time inside cooking for each other. We both love to cook and love to experiment with new recipes and new foods. I love learning about traditional recipes from his home in Peru and, in turn, I introduce him to some of my French and Portuguese family recipes.

The recipe below is inspired by a delicious basil sauce that my boyfriend makes to top just about anything, from meats, to soups, to fried eggs. He makes the sauce with fresh basil, vegetable stock, cream, and salt and pepper, and I can honestly eat it by the spoonful. It's a lovely, bright green elixir of intense herb flavor. While the sauce is filled with vitamins and minerals, it also packs on some extra fat and salt content because of the stock and cream.(Interested in the nutrition info for basil? Check here: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/spices-and-herbs/213/2). I decided to make a slightly lighter version of the sauce for health geeks like myself, while trying to keep the creamy, delicious consistency and taste. 

Poached eggs can be equally delicious and creamy, if made with a little love and care. I think that a lot of people are scared of trying to poach eggs because they think it can be time consuming and tricky. In fact, besides the time it takes to boil a pot of water, the eggs only take about 3-4 minutes to cook and there is no preparation necessary. All you need is some fresh eggs, boiling water, and a tad bit of vinegar. 

I hope you enjoy the recipe for Poached Eggs with Creamy Basil Sauce. The vibrant colors and fresh flavors bring me back to warmer days. 

How to Poach an Egg

1. Fill a large pot 1/2 to 3/4 full of water. Add a splash of white vinegar and bring to a boil. (Note: other vinegars will also work to keep the egg together in the water but may alter the color of the egg). 

2. Crack your egg into a small dish or shallow cup. 

3. When the water is boiling, use a slotted spoon to swirl the water around the pot. By creating this whirlpool, you are briefly lowering the temperature of the water so that the large bubbles won't mess up your egg when you drop it in.

4. Quickly and gently drop your egg into the middle of the whirlpool. You may lose some of the whites of the egg but the vinegar helps keep the majority of the egg together. Cook your egg for 3 to 4 minutes, depending on your stove and how hard you like the yolk. I cooked my eggs for 3 1/2 minutes to get a semi soft yolk that was just a tiny bit runny. 

5. Voila! Remove your egg from the water with a slotted spoon, draining any excess water. Eat and enjoy!

Creamy Basil Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup fresh basil, stems removed and roughly chopped

1/2 cup fresh spinach, stems removed and roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 oz (about 1 1/2 T) goat cheese (low fat if possible)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 T water or low sodium vegetable stock

1 T cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp white pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree to a smooth, creamy texture. You may need a little more or less water/stock to allow for a liquid consistency. 

The recipe should make about a full cup of the basil sauce, enough for 2-4 servings of the poached eggs and basil sauce. To garnish the dish, put the eggs in the bottom of the bowl and spoon 2-3 T of basil sauce around and over the eggs. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper and a few chopped walnuts (they add great texture and taste). Add a couple of leaves of basil and enjoy!

Bon appetit :)