Poached eggs can be tricky. There are a couple of ways to make them but I have never seen them made using cling film and mugs before! I thought it was genius so I'm sharing it - thanks to my nephew Ciaron.
When I was a child my mum made poached eggs using a special egg poacher - effectively a Bain-marie with wells to drop eggs into. They were nice and definitely easy and have the benefit of giving the cook an easy way of cooking multiple eggs at the same time.
However, after sampling "proper" poached eggs in restaurants I abandoned my own egg poacher in favour of the simple saucepan method.
I boil water in the pan, add a drop of vinegar which supposedly stops the egg from spreading too much and swirl the simmering water with a spoon to create a well which I drop the egg into.
Eggs take between 2-4 minutes depending on the size of the egg, whether they are straight out of the fridge or how soft you like them. Poached eggs should always have soft centres.
Lift cooked eggs carefully to of the water using a slotted spoon to drain water.
Visiting my nephew Ciaron last week I was intrigued to see mugs lined up with cling film loosely draped over them. I asked what they were of and was intrigued to discover that he planned to use them to make poached eggs.
Basically you make a well with the cling film in the mug, drop an egg into it then twist the top of the cling film leaving a longish "tail".
You drape the cling film encased eggs into your pan of simmering water and cook for 2-4 minutes (see above.)
Then simply lift the egg parcels out of the pan and unwrap your perfect poached eggs. Of course you can cook as many eggs as you like in the same pan at the same time - perfect if you have friends round for a meal.
Ciaron served his poached eggs atop smoked haddock with a bed of spinachy mashed potatoes and a generous dollop of hollandaise. Apparently he plans to cook this dish for us and some friends soon - I literally cannot wait!
When I was a child my mum made poached eggs using a special egg poacher - effectively a Bain-marie with wells to drop eggs into. They were nice and definitely easy and have the benefit of giving the cook an easy way of cooking multiple eggs at the same time.
I boil water in the pan, add a drop of vinegar which supposedly stops the egg from spreading too much and swirl the simmering water with a spoon to create a well which I drop the egg into.
Eggs take between 2-4 minutes depending on the size of the egg, whether they are straight out of the fridge or how soft you like them. Poached eggs should always have soft centres.
Lift cooked eggs carefully to of the water using a slotted spoon to drain water.
Visiting my nephew Ciaron last week I was intrigued to see mugs lined up with cling film loosely draped over them. I asked what they were of and was intrigued to discover that he planned to use them to make poached eggs.
Basically you make a well with the cling film in the mug, drop an egg into it then twist the top of the cling film leaving a longish "tail".
You drape the cling film encased eggs into your pan of simmering water and cook for 2-4 minutes (see above.)
Then simply lift the egg parcels out of the pan and unwrap your perfect poached eggs. Of course you can cook as many eggs as you like in the same pan at the same time - perfect if you have friends round for a meal.
Ciaron served his poached eggs atop smoked haddock with a bed of spinachy mashed potatoes and a generous dollop of hollandaise. Apparently he plans to cook this dish for us and some friends soon - I literally cannot wait!