Poached Eggs With Date Chorizo Paste Recipes

Steps:

• Two days before serving, prepare eggs. For each egg, lay out a 12-inch square of plastic wrap. Generously grease it with butter, and then sprinkle with truffle oil and salt. Crack an egg in center of each, then quickly collect edges of plastic wrap. Twist ends of wrap tightly, and tie with string. Refrigerate two days.
• In a small pan, combine sugar with 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Let cool. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine dates, chorizo, vinegar and 2 tablespoons of the sugar syrup. Season with pepper. Puree until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl with a spatula. The mixture should be thick but not stiff. Pulse in the olive oil, and then water (a tablespoon at a time) as needed. Taste, and adjust seasoning.
• Put paste on a large square of cheesecloth. Wrap in a ball, and squeeze with your hands over a bowl. (This is messy and time-consuming, but makes the resulting paste markedly smoother and strains out any chewy pieces of chorizo.)
• Bring a medium pan of water to a simmer. Using a slotted spoon, gently add egg packages to water. Simmer 3 1/2 minutes, for a runny yolk. Meanwhile, toast bread.
• When eggs are done, transfer packages to paper towels to drain. Place one package on each of six plates, and cut open at top with scissors. Discard plastic wrap, making sure all the oil stays on the plate. Sprinkle egg with coarse salt. Spoon a little date-chorizo paste around it. Sprinkle olive oil on toast, and serve with eggs.

Steps:

• Preheat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of olive oil, about 2 tablespoons. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes. Add the 2 cloves chopped garlic, onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, thyme, salt and pepper, cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chicken broth and bring up to a bubble, turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
• Fill a medium skillet with warm water. Bring water to a gentle simmer over medium low heat. As the water is coming up to a simmer proceed with making the garlic croutons and the zesty parsley sprinkle.
• Toast the bread in the broiler or in a toaster oven. Once the bread is toasted, rub with the cracked garlic and then drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over it and reserve.
• Pile the parsley leaves, lemon zest and orange zest on a cutting board. Run your knife through the pile until the parsley is finely chopped and the zests are completely incorporated into the parsley, reserve.
• Once the water is at a bubble for poaching the eggs, pour the vinegar into the simmering water. Crack an egg into a small bowl. Gently pour the egg into the simmering water. Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs. Cook eggs for about 2 minutes for runny yolks, or about 4 for solid yolks. Do not allow the water to boil. Carefully remove the eggs with a slotted spoon to a towel-lined plate to drain.
• To serve, pull thyme stems from chorizo-tomato stew, then arrange the garlic croutons in the bottom of 4 shallow soup bowls, ladle some of the stew on top of the garlic croutons, set eggs in place and sprinkle dish with zesty parsley sprinkle and serve.

Steps:

• Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add the chorizo. Cook for 5 mins or until starting to crisp. Stir through the chard and leave to wilt for 5-8 mins, then remove from the heat and set aside.
• Bring a pan of water to the boil, reduce to a simmer, then quickly stir the water with a wooden spoon to create a whirlpool. Once the whirlpool has almost completely subsided, crack an egg into the centre of it. Gently simmer for 3 mins, then remove with a slotted spoon. Set aside on a plate while you poach the remaining egg.
• Cook the polenta following pack instructions, then mix in the parmesan, oil, parsley and some seasoning. Spoon the polenta onto plates and top with the chorizo, chard and a poached egg.