Brunch for Dinner

Sam was pretty skeptical of this one.  Asparagus and eggs on toast?  That just didn’t compute for him.  But the minute I received this recipe in one of the dozens of food related emails I get daily, I couldn’t wait to get home to make it.  I love asparagus, and although I know it’s not in season, I just had to find some.  Luckily, it was available at my local grocery store and I decided to prepare it similarly to a dish I made for Easter last year.  This dish is actually much more appropriate for brunch and would be really wonderful if you were serving a crowd.  The eggs are soft-boiled—which I’ve decided is my new go-to egg variety—and you can pre-cook the asparagus, assembling everything just at the very end.  With the addition of a lemon vinaigrette (that I used in the lemony panzanella recipe here), this was a light dinner that reminded me of spring.  I will absolutely be making this for brunch in the very near future, probably with a mimosa on the side.

Asparagus and Soft Eggs on Toast (adapted from Real Simple)

Ingredients

½ lb. asparagus

olive oil

salt & pepper

2 slices good, country bread

4 eggs

grated parmesan cheese

lemon vinaigrette

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Trim the asparagus and place in a heavy roasting pan.  Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper and grated parmesan.  Roast the asparagus for 8 minutes, turn, and roast for an additional 10 minutes.  Take out and let stand as you bring a pot of water to a boil.  Carefully lower the eggs into the water and let simmer for 6 minutes.  The yolks will be runny, but the whites should be cooked through.  Take out and cool under cold water.  Toast bread, place on plates with the asparagus on top and pour the vinaigrette over the asparagus.  Peel the eggs and place on the bed of asparagus, cut into the eggs and sprinkle with salt, pepper and grated parmesan before serving.