Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg

For 4 people, you will need:

1 50 g shallot
2 4 Poached eggs
3 200 g Polenta
4 2 tablespoons olive oil
5 40 g butter
6 1 glass dry white wine
7 150 ml liquid cream
8 300 g cooked spinach
9 2 tablespoons olive oil
10 salt
11 pepper
Total weight: 1,100 grams

Change for:

Measures:

How long does it take?

Time required

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
45 min.	26 min.	1 hour 11 min.

Keeping:

Should be eaten immediately once plated up.

At what time?

When will I finish if I start the recipe at a certain time?
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at a certain time?

Work this out...

Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - 20 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #1

Poach the eggs

Prepare 4 Poached eggs and set aside where they will stay hot.

Heat plates.

Stage 2 - 10 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #2

Prepare the polenta cakes

Prepare the polenta, spread out approximately 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick and leave to cool.

Stage 3 - 2 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #3

Use a cutter to cut out 8 cm (3 inch) circles...

Stage 4

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #4

...allowing one circle per person. Collect up the trimmings of polenta and save for another recipe.

Stage 5 - 5 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #5

Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a frying pan on high heat and when hot, add the polenta cakes.

Cook until nicely browned on both sides.

Set aside and keep hot.

Stage 6 - 5 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #6

Make the shallot sauce

Prepare 50 g shallot and dice very small.

Stage 7 - 1 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #7

Melt 40 g butter in a small saucepan on medium heat, then add the chopped shallot, salt and pepper.

Cook for 1 minute without colouring.

Stage 8 - 1 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #8

Pour in 1 glass dry white wine and leave to reduce by 3/4.

Stage 9 - 15 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #9

Add 150 ml liquid cream and leave on low heat to thicken.

Check seasoning.

Stage 10 - 5 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #10

Reheat the spinach

Meanwhile, reheat 300 g cooked spinach with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan on low heat.

Stage 11 - 1 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #11

Assemble the dish

Place a polenta cake on each of the hot serving plates.

Stage 12 - 3 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #12

Place the cutter over the polenta while you arrange the spinach on top. Press this gently into place...

Stage 13

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #13

...and remove the cutter.

This method ensures a neat circle of spinach, just the right size.

Stage 14 - 1 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #14

Place a hot poached egg on top.

Stage 15 - 2 min.

Polenta with spinach and soft-poached egg : Photo of step #15

Pour the shallot sauce over and serve immediately.

For a little dramatic effect, like in the photo, you can split the egg to let some yolk run out just before serving.

Remarks

The tricky part of this recipe is the timing: getting everything ready at the same time so that the different elements (egg, spinach, polenta, sauce) are hot when assembled.

If you prefer a smoother sauce, you can strain it to remove the bits of shallots before adding the cream.

Nutritional information

% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories by day for a woman (change to a man).

How much will it cost?

For 4 people : 3.67 €
Per person : 0.92 €

Note : These prices are only approximate

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	Cooked spinach: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Spinach and ricotta ravioli, Chicken with spinach in a cream sauce , Spinach Omelette, Spinach brik parcels, Salmon and Spinach Gratin, ... All
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	Liquid cream: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée, Little vanilla, clementine and chestnut verrines, Apple Batter Puddings, Croque-monsieur complet, Pistachio ice cream, ... All
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