Egg Toast Recipe
This egg toast recipe features your favourite toast scented with a hint of garlic, topped with brie, black forest ham, and a perfectly poached egg. Drizzled with olive oil and garnished with salt, pepper, and fresh basil, it is an elevated version of Egg on Toast.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 4 slices bread toasted
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- brie cheese sliced to cover toast
- 8 slices black forest ham
- salt and pepper to season
- 1 small bunch fresh basil garnish
Instructions
- Place a fine meshed strainer over a bowl and crack your egg in to it. Allow the watery part of the egg white to pass through the mesh, then pour the remaining yolk and intact egg white into a small bowl. Discard the watery portion of the egg white. Do this for each egg you plan on poaching, each egg should get its own small bowl. See note 1.
- Fill your saucepan about half full with water and then add in your vinegar. Bring to a boil.
- Once water is rapidly boiling turn the heat off and wait until no bubbles are being produced. Use a spoon to stir the water to form a whirlpool. Stop stirring and gently pour one egg into the middle of the vortex. Don't drop the egg from high up, try to slide it into the vortex as closely to the water as possible to keep the egg in tact. Start your timer. For super soft egg yolks, poach for 3 minutes.
- While your egg is poaching fill a mixing bowl with cold water and add a few ice cubes to keep the water cold. Set the bowl aside.
- You can lift the egg out at 3 minutes with a slotted spoon and gently touch the yolks to feel how soft they are. If you want them a little firmer, put the egg back in the water a little longer. Once you are happy with how firm the egg yolk is, remove the egg from the saucepan and place into the ice bath. This will prevent the egg from cooking any further. You can add all your cooked eggs to this ice bath, and then when you are ready to serve, place them back in hot water again for 30-45 seconds to reheat.If you are only making one or two eggs you can skip the cold water bath entirely.Remember to bring your water back to boiling and then turn off before poaching another egg.
- Prepare your toast to the level of "toastiness" you prefer.Slice an end off your garlic clove and rub the garlic's newly cut flat surface all over the toast.
- Drizzle with a little olive oil
- Place slices of brie cheese on the toast - I used 4 small slices per piece of toast
- Place a couple slices of shaved black forest ham over the brie.
- Top the ham with a poached egg. Be sure to lay the egg first on a paper towel to dry off a bit and dab the top off before placing on the ham.
- Sprinkle the egg with salt and pepper, give it another drizzle of olive oil, and garnish with torn up basil leaves. Enjoy!
Notes
- Straining your eggs is the big game changer when making poached eggs. As an egg ages, the whites begin to break down turning that egg white jelly into a more watery egg white. Its that watery egg white which swirls around in your saucepan and makes a wet eggy mess. So when you strain your egg, the yolk and egg white which remain in the strainer will work as a cohesive unit during poaching.
- Adding vinegar to the water helps to denature the egg whites (which is what is happening when they are heated) which ultimately helps the poached egg hold its shape faster. You won't taste the vinegar if you place your poached egg in cold water or just use a paper towel to help dry off excess water.