Poached Eggs with Fresh Black Truffles
Poached Eggs with Fresh Black Truffles
A lot of people seem to have a fear of poached eggs, and trying fresh truffles. This is a perfect and simple way to introduce even the most novice home cook or foodie to dare try both. For an even more daring experience, you could place a fresh truffle in a jar with the eggs for a few days to infuse them with a decadent truffle flavour. All the eggs used on this Australian Flavours recipe have been produced organically and fresh from my backyard. Selecting free-range or organically produced ingredients will help deliver richer and enhanced flavours to your dish.
Poached Eggs with Fresh Black Truffles
Creator: Jeffrey Simonetta Photographer: Benjamin Townsend
Author: The Chef
Ingredients
- 25g-30g fresh black truffles
- 8 50g free-range eggs
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- Pinch salt
- 4 slices of your favourite bread, toasted. (We used organic sourdough)
- 50g butter, at room temperature
- 80g spinach
- 1 clove garlic, finely crushed
- Hollandaise sauce
- 200g unsalted butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Method
- To make the hollandaise sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Use a metal spoon to skim any foam from the surface. Pour the clear yellow butter into a heatproof jug. Discard milky residue. Place egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and ½ the hot water in a blender. Blend on high until mixture is pale and thickens slightly. With the motor running, add hot butter in a thin, steady stream. Add remaining water to thin the sauce slightly. Season with pepper, and extra lemon juice and salt, if necessary.
- Fill a wide saucepan with water until approximately 8cm deep. Add vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low-medium - water should be just simmering, with small bubbles rising from the base of pan and small ripples across the top of the water.
- Using a slotted spoon, stir simmering water in one direction to create a whirlpool (this will help to give your poached eggs a neat shape).
- Crack the eggs into centre of whirlpool, as close to water as possible. Cook for 2-3 minutes for a semi-soft yolk or 3-4 minutes for a firm-set yolk, without stirring.
- Using the slotted spoon, remove and transfer eggs to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. If doing larger quantity of eggs, during and between cooking eggs, use slotted spoon to skim any foam from water surface.
- Toast your bread slices and spread with the butter, if desired.
- Whilst toasting the bread, on medium heat, melt the butter in a medium fry pan. Add the crushed garlic and spinach and wilt for 2 minutes.
- Arrange toast, spinach and eggs on plates and drizzle with hollandaise to your taste. To finish finely shave some fresh black truffle over the top.
