Eggs Benedictine (Poached eggs with spinach sauce)

I love a slow relaxing brunch on a Sunday, and when my sister's visiting I always have to cook some kind of eggs!

This is my variation of Eggs Benedict, or Eggs Florentine, which I'm calling Eggs Benedictine since it's poached eggs with a spinach white sauce. "Going to the bother of making a white sauce on a Sunday morning, are you mad?!", I hear you saying? Don't worry, this is my quick and easy white sauce, which only takes 3 minutes in the microwave!

Serves two

• 4 blocks of frozen spinach, defrosted
• 4 eggs (two each)
• Four slices of brown or rye bread

For the white sauce:

• 2 tsp plain flour
• 2 tsp butter
• 400 ml milk (or milk and water mixed)
• salt and pepper to taste
• (optional) grated cheese

1. Put the butter in a bowl and melt in the microwave, about 30 seconds
2. Add the plain flour and mix into the butter until smooth.
3. Gradually add the milk, smoothing out lumps as you go. Once you've added 100 ml or so it should be fine to just add the rest.
4. Zap in the microwave for 1 minute, stir vigorously, then zap for another minute. It should be done! If not cook for another minute. The sauce should be thick like custard.
5. Add grated cheese to taste, if using, then stir in the spinach. Taste it for seasoning.

Poach the eggs however you prefer, this is my easy method with no whirling nonsense. Make sure you use fresh eggs, older eggs tend to dissolve into soup:

1. Fill a sauté pan, or high-sided frying pan, with boiling water from the kettle until it's about 1.5 inches/3 cm deep. Add a sprinkling of salt and put on a low heat. The water should be steaming, but completely still.
2. Gently crack an egg into the water, easing into the water carefully. Repeat for the rest.
3. Turn up the heat slightly and leave the eggs to cook in their bath for about 4-5 mins until the white is set but the yolk still runny.

To assemble:

1. Toast the bread, and pop two slices each on the plate.
2. Pour sauce onto the toast, roughly two tablespoons each slice.
3. Remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon - I also blot them a bit with kitchen paper.
4. Place one egg on each slice, and top with cracked pepper. 
5. Enjoy with a nice cup of tea and the Sunday papers!

Baked eggs and tomato

This is a lovely recipe for a leisurely Sunday brunch, particularly on a wet miserable day like today! This recipe makes two eggs per person in individual serving dishes. Eat it with crusty bread or sautéed potatoes.

• 2 eggs
• 2 large tomatoes, quartered
• 1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
• Tomato oil (from sun-dried tomatoes), or olive oil
• Half tsp paprika
• Cheddar or parmesan for the top (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Put a tablespoon of oil in a small ovenproof dish
3. Fit the tomatoes and garlic into the dish. 
4. Sprinkle with salt and dust with paprika.
5. Cook in the oven for about 30 minutes
6. Remove from the oven, make twos hollows in the tomatoes and gently crack an egg into each.
7. Return to the oven and cook for about eight minutes, until the whites are set but the yolk still runny.
8. If using, add a sprinkling of grated cheese around the edges just before the end of cooking.

Variations

If you have stale leftover bread that needs using up, shred a slice into the bottom of the dish before layering with tomatoes. The bread soaks up the oil and tomato juice making a delicious gooey mixture.

I like the warm heat of paprika, but herbs like thyme or chives are a nice alternative. Chilli gives a spicy kick.