Substantial Substrate

A few days ago, I made a delicious and beautiful veggie melange that My Beloved tasted and said, in essence,"Where's the beef?" He's a dedicated carnivore, even more so than I am. Not wanting to a) finish the giant pan of veggies all by myself or b) throw them away, I decided to doctor them up as a cushion for a couple of poached eggs.

I started by sautéing in just a driz (not a full drizzle) of EVOO one and a half Italian sausages, squeezed out of their casings into little bibbits that I browned thoroughly before adding a chopped onion and three minced shallots to soften in the sausage drippings. Added the already-roasted, diced veggies and let them all get familiar with each other over a low flame. When they were a little toasty and starting to brown and get crisp, I boiled some water and poached a couple of eggs per eater.

Poaching eggs is easy - the ticket is to start with very hot water just deep enough to cover the eggs, rapidly boiling. Crack each egg and lower it almost into the water before opening the shell and letting it slide very gently into the water. (Vinegar in the water makes everything taste icky - don't do that).

The cool eggs will stop the boiling of the water - this is good. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and just let them sit in the simmering water until they are done to your liking. I test the white - when it is firm to the touch of a spatula, the yolk will still be runny. If you like the yolk to be firmer, just wait a few more minutes and watch carefully as the yolk hardens from the outside toward the center.

Scoop out the eggs with a slotted utensil when they are perfectly to your taste and hold them at a gentle angle against the side of the pan to allow the excess water to drain away. They are slippery little devils - if you make the angle too steep, they will slide back into the water and you'll have to go fishing again.

I plated the veggie/sausage mixture and topped it with the eggs. The yolk trickled down amongst the veggies, enriching an already pretty rich dish. Nobody went to bed hungry. My Beloved was less enthusiastic about this dish than I was but he liked it better than the pre-sausage, pre-onion stage. I'm happy that there is just a small serving of the mixture left, which I will heat for my lunch and top with another egg.