Spring Pea Crostini with Poached Egg & Shaved Asparagus Salad

I saw this recipe on The Chew the other day and my mouth was literally watering while watching them I knew I had to make this for myself immediately. So I went to the store {luckily, I had most of the ingredients at home!} picked up a few things & whipped up this little number while Brooks took a nap!

Side Note: I’ve been having an awesome time making & prepping meals during Brooks’ nap time. So much easier to cook with a little one sleeping instead of him running around!

Here’s how this little dish – that is so fresh and literally tastes like spring! – came to be:

For the Asparagus Salad:

Shave the 1/2 pound of asparagus with a vegetable peeler lengthwise into a large bowl. Add in 1/2 cup shaved Pecorino Romano cheese to the bowl. Add a pinch of salt {optional} and gently toss together. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the zest and juice of 1 orange, 1 tsp. red wine vinegar and a splash of olive oil. Add the dressing to the asparagus and let stand for about 5 minutes. Add in fruit segments from 1/2 orange and 1/2 grapefruit.

For the Crostini:

Add the 1 cup spring peas to the base of a food processor followed by 1 shallot & 1 garlic clove {both minced} along with 2 tbsp. water and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar. Puree until almost smooth then add 3 tablespoons of olive oil then puree until smooth. Add the pea mixture to a large mixing bowl along with the 1/4 cup feta and 1 tbsp. mint. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

four steps

For the Poached Eggs:

Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add 2 tablespoons of light-colored vinegar. Crack the eggs into a separate small bowl. Turn the heat to low so that the water stops bubbling. Then, vigorously stir the water with a spoon. Immediately drop the eggs into the center. (Because of the funnel effect of the water, the egg whites will wrap around themselves.) Cook without moving the eggs until the whites are set (about 4 minutes).

You can also do an over-easy egg for this part of the recipe or continue to cook the egg straight through if you want them less runny {which is what I did for my plate – #pregnancyproblems } I also think a hardboiled egg smashed up would be just as awesome as an egg topper here!

Spring Pea Poached Egg

To Wrap it all Up:

Serve a spoonful of the pea puree on a piece of grilled sourdough bread and top with shaved radish. Add a poached egg to each piece of toast then drizzle with olive oil and top with some flakey salt.

Serve alongside a shaved asparagus salad.

Seriously, this dish is so unexpected and yummy. The ingredients were fresh and seasonal and full of flavor. Both my guys – hubs & baby – enjoyed this meal. Brooks had some sourdough bread topped with the pea, feta & mint mixture – he ate it right up! Charles enjoyed my first poached egg & he said it was awesome! Such a fun meal to make for breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner! Will be making this again soon for sure !

April is an awesome time to focus on “spring cleaning” – checking in with diet & exercise to make small adjustments now that the weather is getting warmer, adding more fresh fruits & veggies to my diet {now that they are in season}, and just generally getting excited about summer.

egglands-best-eggs1

I’m always keeping healthy eating at the top of my priority list and filling my belly {and baby bump!} with fresh fruits, veggies and healthy snacks {like eggs}. I was pleasantly surprised to find that making a simple switch from an ordinary egg to an Eggland’s Best egg can easily give us all SO MUCH MORE nutrition!

A little more about Egglands Best -> Compared to ordinary eggs, each Eggland’s Best large egg contains: