Less a recipe and more a guideline, this grilled asparagus with poached eggs is a seasonal dish that pops up everywhere in spring. I can find few dishes as elegant and as luxurious as asparagus with eggs; be they scrambled or poached. The delicate yolks, mixing with the fresh almost herby fragrance of the asparagus is divine. This is true treat for me and one I recommend you try if you love asparagus.
I recommend you use the thin spindly asparagus spears, they will be slightly sweeter. Thick asparagus can have a rather woody texture and unpleasant taste. I do fire up our weber barbecue to make this dish specifically. The charred lines on the asparagus slightly caramelise the sugars in the spears and look stunning against the eggs. However, I’ve provided stove top instructions below as they work beautifully too.
The eggs must be free range and at room temperature. One should never keep their eggs in the fridge, it does make cooking them fraught with issues. The yolks should be soft, slightly runny so they can delicately coat each spear. Now for the sauce… If I was serving this to guests, I would recommend a thick hollandaise. However, I find making hollandaise for one to be rather labourious. When flying solo I prefer a little hot sauce, or a little grated cheese with some fresh cracked pepper.
This grilled asparagus divine as a luxurious weekend brunch or in my case, an easy midweek dinner. It also has a number of possibilities – wrap a salmon slice around a bunch of spears before plating and then top with an poached egg for an elevated brunch. Or do you prefer prosciutto over salmon? Use your imagination and adapt the recipe to suit. Below are the quantities for one serving. Just double or triple depending on your numbers.
Ingredients
- 200gms asparagus spears
- 1/2 lemon
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus spears and heat a grill pan on the stove top. Grill the asparagus for a few minutes each side, until char marks have appeared. Remove the asparagus from the heat and squeeze over the lemon juice. While the asparagus is grilling, add the vinegar to the pot of water and poach the eggs for 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs and drain. Place them on top of the asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the parmesan and then tuck in.
