Breaking one’s fast from a restful sleep is an activity that mankind has long perfected.
Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and I regret to say that I don’t have it often enough. On weekdays, I generally have a cup of coffee on my way to work. Depending on the type of coffee consumed (black or white), I will then have a mid-morning snack of a milk based drink (usually Up-and-Go) 0_0.
Weekends is when I generally let myself go and enjoy a rich hearty breakfast. It’s not that I don’t like eating breakfast on weekdays, I just prefer my sleep. I’m out of the bed and out the door in 30 mins generally in the mornings before work, so I like to maximise my hours spent in bed 🙂
The Boy having recently purchased a Sunbeam Sous Vide machine (for $169 during Myer’s 15% sale) has been experimenting with sous vide-ing everything in the kitchen. Obviously we started with eggs. Having trialled the eggs a few times, he surprised me one Saturday sleep-in morning by running out of our room around 7am and returned 20 minutes later.
An hour later, with the beeping of the sous vide machine finally rousing us out of bed, I was presented with beautifully slow cooked eggs.
I had to help him with the asparagus, but that only took a mere 5-10 minutes to cook.
This very simple recipe slow cooks the egg in a water bath at 63 degrees Celsius for an hour. But really, if you’re looking for a really lazy but beautiful breakfast on a weekend morning, this recipe would be perfect for you (provided you have a sous vide machine or other means of temperature controlled cooking).
Sous Vide Poached Eggs with Grilled Asparagus Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Eggs (at room temperature - whole eggs in the shell, not cracked)
- 12 stalks of Asparagus (trimmed)
- Olive Oil
- Sea Salt & Pepper
- 4-5 Semi-Dried Black Olives (available from fine food stores)
- Bulgarian White Brined Sheep's Milk Cheese (for garnish)
- Watercress (for garnish)
- Equipment required = Sous Vide Machine & Mini Toaster Oven
Instructions
For the Eggs
- Fill your water tank and turn your Sous Vide Machine on. Set the temperature to 63 degrees Celsius and the time duration of 1 hour.
- Once the machine reaches the set temperature, gently place the eggs into the water tank.
For the Black Olive Soil
- The correct method is to dehydrate pitted black olives in a dehydrator at 65 degrees Celsius for 24 hours or until crunchy.
- I used a "short cut" method of utilising semi-dried black olives and a mini toaster oven. The result is crunchy but with a slight earthy-burnt taste due to the high heat. The choice is really up to you but I prefer using this method when I'm in a rush or plating an impromptu dish.
- Half the semi dried olives and remove the seeds. Place in a mini toaster oven and toast for 5 minutes or until they feel hard or crunchy to touch. Results may vary with different toasters but your aim is always the same so keep checking. Careful not to "over-toast" them or else they'll be too burnt to serve.
- Use a mortar and pestle to roughly grind the olives into a soil-like texture. It doesn't need to be too fine like powder.
For the Asparagus (Just before the eggs are done)
- Heat a griller on medium-high heat. Drizzle and coat the asparagus in olive oil. Place asparagus in the griller (cook them in batches if required) and cook each side until tender (5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus).
- Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Plating Up
- Take eggs out of the water bath and crack each one into a bowl. Crack them like you would with soft boil eggs.
- Arrange asparagus spears on a plate. Use a slotted spoon to transfer eggs from the bowls onto the asparagus. Using a slotted spoon avoids loose whites from getting onto the plate as well.
- Sprinkle black olive 'soil' at the edges of the plate. Crumb some Bulgarian sheep's milk cheese over the plate.
- Garnish with watercress and edible flowers.
Notes
With a little help from our flowering herbs in the garden, we made our breakfast look pretty.
Pretty food tastes better I reckon!
What I really love about the eggs cooked this way is how creamy it really is. It’s just so different from half boiled eggs done the ‘normal’ conventional way.
So tell me, what is your favourite meal of the day?
For another lazy weekend recipe idea, see:
Wow this is the most spectacular looking breakfast ever – I love that you call it a lazy weekend brekky – nothing lazy about this for the chef!
Hahah you dump it in the slow cooker and go back to sleep 🙂 that is lazy! hahaha
I reckon you could make 3 day old maccas on a plate look shit hot!
Is that a challenge? ahahah
Those eggs look so perfectly cooked! And that is some gorgeous plating.
Thanks! I knew he had something up his sleeve!
That is just redonkulously too good looking to eat!
My favourite meal of the day is brunch, because it usually means I am not at work and can enjoy a leisurely meal!!
So happy that you say “redonkulously” too!
Hai…. sous vide. I want the machine as well but can’t get anything else until we MOVE again… 😐
Boo! Why are you guys moving again?
These look amazing . Um, I wish I had these breakfast!
Hahaha, I can assure you it’s not a weekly occurence!
5-10 minutes to cook… but, for me, three hours to plate and even then I’d end up with something that look like a monkey trashed the joint. I bow down to y’all.
Monkey does what monkey does 😛 Thanks Angle babe!
How beautiful the eggs look! I am still waiting for you & zeboy to open a restaurant 😉 winks
I am like you I love my sleep on weekends and have my breakie pretty late!
No way man. We are too slow to serve any more than two people (i.e. us!)
ALL TEH PRETTINESS!!!!!11
I have a dehydrator at home but I’m a very impatient person and would probably take the olives out after the 6 hour mark so thanks for sharing the shortcut method with us!
U R TEH SUXOR!!111 okay you aren’t but I have a feeling you would get that 😛
What a work of art!!! I’m seriously impressed-a restaurant would love to turn out plates like that 😀
Aww thanks Lorraine! Wheeeee
Sexy plate up, have you tried 61C duck eggs in dashi broth?, that is a challenge.
Dashi Broth? Not yet it seems! MUST REPLICATE and put heaps of bonito flakes.. MmMmm
Wow, what a lovely treat! You are so spoiled. 🙂
I am! Wuhoooo
Very swanky breakfast indeed guys! So yummy and so pretty 🙂 I love a leisurely breakfast, but usually settle for a gf muesli bar and banana eaten in the car 🙁
I am so not a cereal or muesli person. Hahaha I won’t mind the occasional cereal meal but it has to be the unhealthy honey soaked or milo crunch ones 😛
Just one degree can make a big difference. See our egg cooking chart: bit.ly/1eyf2l4
We make Precise Temperature Control Easy.
Oh so interesting. Thanks for sharing!
You haven’t told us how long it took Gaz to plate up. 1 hour to cook the eggs, 1 hour to plate? 😉
Pretty accurate babe!