Poached egg and bright beet breakfast board
This is the kind of thing I like to make when I want a delicious breakfast to serve in the middle of the table. It’s a fun way of enjoying poached eggs. In fact, it’s my new favourite way, with creamy beetroot, avocado, runny eggs and lots of crisp toast to swish it up with.
Ingredients
For the creamy beetroot
- 250g/9oz cooked beetroot, roughly chopped
- 200ml/7fl oz crème fraîche
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- pinch salt
For the eggs
- 4 free-range eggs, as fresh as possible
- 4 slices toast, to serve
For the toppings
- 1 avocado, flesh cut into cubes and sprinkled with lemon juice
- pickled red cabbage
- crispy chilli oil
- finely chopped fresh dill
- runny honey
Method
To make the beetroot, put the beetroot, crème fraîche, garlic and salt in a blender or food processor. Blend to a smooth, thick paste. Spread all over a wooden board or flat platter.
To make the eggs, crack each egg into four separate small bowls and set aside.
Have a bowl of cold water large enough for the four eggs set aside. Add a few cubes of ice if you have ice. If not, this is not essential (and you can also skip this step entirely if you are eating the eggs straightaway).
Find a saucepan that is large enough to be able to comfortably hold four eggs and deep enough for a lot of water. Pour water into the pan and bring to the boil. As soon as the water boils, turn the heat right down.
Stir the boiling water to remove any air bubbles and leave the water to become still. As soon as the water is still, take a bowl with an egg and gently lower it right down to the surface of the hot water, allowing the egg to just drop in. Do the same with the other three eggs in quick succession so they cook for roughly the same time.
Leave to sit for 3 minutes, then remove the eggs one by one with a slotted spoon and serve immediately (as below) or drop carefully into the cold water to stop them from cooking any further.
To serve, sprinkle the avocado and cabbage over the beetroot on the board, then drizzle over the chilli oil. Add the eggs on top. Sprinkle over the dill and then drizzle with more chilli oil and the honey.
Serve with the toast and dig right in.
Recipe Tips
If you are struggling to find crispy chilli oil, make your own by combining chilli flakes, oil and crispy fried onions. Mix and it is good to go. The best thing about making it yourself is that you can control the amount of chilli: add more (if you are like my husband) or less (if you are like me).