Make Basic poached eggs

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Master the art of poaching eggs and you’ll always be ready to create a quick and tasty meal.

You will need

• 4 fresh eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• Thickly sliced bread, toasted and buttered, and chopped chives, to serve

Serves 4

1. Working with 1 egg at a time, crack an egg on to a saucer. Fill a wide saucepan with water until approximately 8cm deep. Add vinegar and 1 tsp salt. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low-medium – water should be just simmering, with small bubbles rising from the base of pan and small ripples across the top of the water.
2. Fill a bowl with cold water and set aside. Using a wooden spoon or whisk, stir simmering water in one direction to create a whirlpool (this will help to give your poached eggs a neat shape).
3. Slide egg from saucer into centre of whirlpool, as close to water as possible. Cook for 2-3 minutes for a semi-soft yolk or 3-4 minutes for a firm-set yolk, without stirring.
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer egg to the bowl of cold water (this stops the cooking process). Remove and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. During and between cooking eggs, use slotted spoon to skim any foam from water surface. Repeat with remaining eggs. To reheat eggs, bring a clean pan of water to the boil then remove from heat. Add eggs. Stand, covered, for 1 minute. Remove and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
5. Serve eggs on toast, sprinkled with chives and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper, or use in one of the recipes on the following pages.

Tips for perfect poaching

• Adding vinegar or lemon juice to the water when poaching helps eggwhites to set quickly, keeping them attached to the yolks.
• Eggs purchased from the supermarket generally have a 4-week shelf life – look for those with the furthest away use-by date.
• Bring eggs to room temperature before poaching as cold eggs will lower the temperature of the water.

Serving tip

As an alternative to regular bread, serve poached eggs with toasted brioche, Turkish or sourdough bread. Or try poached eggs on top of toasted English muffins, with basil pesto and sliced leg ham.

Words & recipes: Alison Roberts. Photography: Scott Hawkins. Styling: Michelle Noerianto