Poached Eggs

Here’s a really smart trick: poached eggs the short order chef way. It means never having to angst about a poached egg served up at a dinner party again – because you can cook ‘em earlier that day or even the day before. It also means poached eggs for breakfast in two minutes flat!

First catch your eggs. Break ‘em into a ramekin one at a time. Put aside a bowl of iced water.

Now boil up a pan of water and slosh a splash of vinegar into the water. Slide each egg into the boiling water, ideally not more than two and never more than four at a time. The idea is to keep the egg as together as possible, but I’m actually a fan of an imperfect looking egg so don’t buy into all that cling film stuff.

Give them 90 seconds, two minutes at the absolute most, then remove them with a slotted spoon and pop ‘em in the iced water. You can trim them if you like. These will now store in the ‘fridge happily for 24 hours or so. When you’re ready to eat them, heat up a pan of water and cook the eggs for a further two minutes. Hey presto! Perfect poached eggs every time – runny in the middle and cooked on the outside. Just right for topping salads, enriching tartlets and generally garnishing, embellishing and just plain eggifying things!