Beet Salad with a Perfectly Poached Egg

I recently came across Smitten Kitchen's tutorial on poaching eggs. I had sworn off poaching eggs after a disastrous attempt at making Eggs Benedict that left me extremely mad. However, after reading the fantastic tips from Smitten Kitchen I decided to give it another go. I made one egg and it turned out perfectly. I figured I needed to make a second just to see if the first was a fluke. Well, the second egg came out perfect as well! I've since been on a crazy poached egg blitz and I haven't looked back since.

Our summer has been the most outrageous one I've ever come across. Hot, cold, rain, but mostly cold. I swear I even saw snow the other week, Yes, in August. It wouldn't surprise me at this point. So, as many Vancouverites feel thus far, we have been cheated out of a real Summer. And just like that, in a couple of weeks, it's fall. Well, not if I have anything to say about it, which I don't so what the heck am I to do...How about put on the blinders and pretend it's nice out with a gorgeous, fresh beet salad topped with a perfectly poached egg and fried goat cheese. Yes, that'll do.

I'll save you me trying to explain how to poach eggs because the pictures and explanation at Smitten Kitchen are too good to pass up. Go over there for all you need to know.

RECIPE:

Beet Salad:
4 small beets, beet greens removed and reserved for the salad
3 TBSP Olive Oil
1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
S&P to taste
Salad greens

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Celsius. Scrub the beets with water until cleaned. Wrap the beets in tin foil. Place the beets in the preheated oven and roast for 40 minutes or until tender. Remove the beets from the oven and allow to cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel off the skin (it should peel away very easily with a paring knife.) Cut the beets into one inch cubes. Whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Place the salad greens, beet greens and beets into a bowl. Toss everything with the oil/vinegar mixture and season with S&P to taste. Serve the salad topped with a poached egg and fried goat cheese.

Fried Goat Cheese:
4 slices goat cheese, 1/2" thick
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs, seasoned w/a pinch of S&P
Oil for frying

Coat the bottom of a frying pan generously with oil. Heat oil to medium heat. place the slices of goat cheese in the egg, remove from the egg, allowing the egg to drip off of the slices and place the cheese in the breadcrumb mixture. Carefully remove the slices and place in the hot oil. Fry the cheese slices for 2-3 minutes or until nicely browned. Carefully flip and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Remove the cheese from the pan and drain on paper towel. Serve warm.

Spaghetti Squash Frittata

This was my first time making a frittata, it also happened to be my first attempt at making spaghetti squash. I love squash and make acorn and butternut squash all the time but hadn't ventured into the realm of the spaghetti variety, until tonight. One thing is for sure, I will never boil a squash ever, ever again. More on that later. Moving on, I have always wanted to make a frittata but I usually shy away from making eggs, I'm just not that good at making them. However, I have seen a bunch of recipes for spaghetti squash frittata that all sounded great and having a really large squash on hand I figured this would be a prime opportunity.

Like I said, next time I'll roast the squash because boiling it turned the flesh to mush and it took forever! Other than that, I've learned that a frittata is unbelievably easy to make and it is so good. I was surprised that it actually tasted better cold. This is a dish I can get used to making on a regular basis, even if it means I'll be cooking eggs quite often.

This recipe was adapted from fabulousfoods.com

RECIPE:
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup spaghetti squash, separated into strands
3 TBS parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 TBS parsley, chopped
1/2 cup shallot or red onion, finely diced
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 TBS butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat broiler.

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Melt butter in a large skillet. Pour mixture into the skillet and cook over low heat for about 12-15 minutes. Transfer to broiler for 3 to 4 minutes or until top is browned.