Mushrooms Bruschetta with Poached Egg

I'm always on the look for easy brunch ideas which I can whip in a hurry on weekends - not the usual fare (rice and dishes) which we eat on weekdays but something more interesting. I came across Mushroom Bruschetta when I was surfing for mushroom recipes. This is a twist from the original which is made of tomatoes and sounded delicious with all that different types of mushroom - as you can tell by now, I'm a mushroom lover.

Anyway, the Mushroom Bruschetta on its looks rather boring as you can see from the picture above. The recipe I found suggested it be served with fried or poached eggs. I recall my friend Baby Sumo's tutorial on making the perfect poached eggs on her blog. So I decided to try my hand at making them for this recipe. 

The poached egg turned out pretty well for a first timer. The yolk was a beautiful runny golden yellow. It was irresistible as the yolk soaked into the crispy bread and flavourful mushrooms. Totally divine!

It's hard not to take another picture of the beautiful, golden runny yolk on the bruschetta. My kids gave this a big thumbs up.

Mushroom Bruschetta with Poached Egg (4 servings)
Recipe adapted from here

Mushroom

Ingredients

• 150 g butter (I used a few tablespoons of olive oil)
• 4 thick slices sourdough bread (I used French Loaf)
• 2 banana shallots or 4 regular shallots, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 300g mixed wild mushrooms (chanterelles, ceps, wood blewitts, oyster, field mushrooms etc), trimmed and sliced
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche (I replaced with yoghurt)
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh tarragon (I used rosemary)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
• 4 free-range fried or poached eggs, to serve

Method

• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the bread slices and fry for 1-2 minutes each side or until lightly browned. remove and keep warm.
• Add the remaining butter to the frying pan and sauté the shallots and garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes. season well, remove from the heat and stir in the crème fraîche and chopped fresh herbs.
• Serve the mushrooms on the sourdough bread, top with fried or poached eggs and serve immediately, drizzling with any pan juices.

Poached Egg
Recipe from Baby Sumo, adapted from MasterChef Australia

You'll need:

• A fresh egg at room temperature
• White vinegar
• Water
• Slotted spoon
• Saucepan

Method

1. Crack the egg into a small ramekin or small bowl. It is easier to slip the egg into the simmering water later.

2. Fill a small saucepan with approximately 4 inches of water and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the water, it will help the eggs whites set.

3. Using a tablespoon, swirl the water making a whirlpool (as if you are drawing circles in the water). Gently tip the egg into the centre of the whirlpool and watch the magic of the swirl work. As the egg hits the whirlpool, the egg white will enclose around the yolk and form a neat tight round. (If your eggs are not fresh or not at room temperature, then this is when it will fail and won't enclose properly)

4. Allow the egg to cook for 2-3 minutes or until the yolk is cooked to your liking. Gently lift out the egg using a slotted spoon and give it a little wobble. The egg white should be just cooked (no more translucent white). Remove with a slotted spoon and rest the spoon on kitchen paper for few seconds to absorb any excess water.

I'm linking this post to Little Thumbs Up event, organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen for my little favourite D.I.Y., and hosted by Joyce, kitchen flavours.