Asparagus and Poached Eggs

Background

Given that this is the Facebook recipe post that broke the camel's back and inspired the creation of this blog, I thought I'd make it the first recipe.  It debuted on my profile a little over a year ago, but now that Lent has rolled around again, this seems a good time to post a vegetarian dish.

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The first Friday of Lent this year, I found myself longing for a vegetarian dish I'd had several times in Madison at Osteria Papavero. It was a simple asparagus and poached egg dish (ehh, probably swimming in some decent amount of butter), and I think it's safe to say, it was one of the best things I've ever eaten. Ever. But really, there's not a *lot* to it in and of itself (Osteria Papavero is more of a Mediterranean Tapas place). This is my attempt to recreate it as a dinner.

Ingredients

1 C. brown rice
1-2 T. dried parsley flakes
1-2 t. onion salt (or garlic salt)
1 lb. asparagus, tough ends removed
2-3 eggs (one for each person you will be serving)
2-3 slices muenster cheese (same deal)

Directions

Cook rice according to directions on container. When rice is cooked, season with parsley and garlic salt. Meanwhile, boil asparagus about 5 minutes (shorter if you like it snappier, longer if you like it mushier). Remove and cover to keep warm. In asparagus water (waste not, want not), poach eggs for 3-5 minutes. A three-minute egg's yolk will run when you cut into it, a 5 minute egg's yolk will be much more solid.

To serve, spoon rice into a bowl. Top each bowl of rice with 4-5 spears of asparagus. Top the asparagus with an egg and top the egg with a slice of cheese. If you like your cheese more melted, you can place the dish under the broiler for just a few minutes (please be sure it's a broiler-safe dish!).

Yield: this served me and one other quite hungry boy :) Typically, I would say it serves 3.



Variation: Asparagus and Poached Eggs Over Pasta in a Lemon-Basil Oil

Omit the rice, parsley and onion salt from the above recipe and instead use:
1 C. whole grain pasta (the shape isn't important; I used elbows)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 C. olive oil (or more depending on potency of lemon)
1 t. dried basil leaves
salt to taste

Prepare as above.  But before assembling the dish, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, basil and salt and pour over drained pasta.  Stir well, then assemble dish.

Pictured below is this variation with a bit of crisp bacon added... because my husband loves bacon - in a sort of alarming way - so bacon, he gets.  He also cannot eat dairy, so the cheese is omitted from this picture.