Poached eggs with Carrot & Potato Puree and toasted brioche bun on top

Poached eggs with Carrot & Potato Puree and toasted brioche bun on top

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This is my take on a French dish inspired by Jaques Pepin the legendary French Chef whom I respect and admire a lot. I have been wanting to make this dish for quite some time now and finally found the time and a great recipe for a mouth watering carrot puree.

So here goes:

Ingredients:

For Carrot & Potato Puree:

  • 2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon melted butter/ olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For poached egg:

  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons white vinegar
  • small bowl
  • salt to taste

1/2 slice of Brioche bun toasted in olive oil or butter

Preparation of Potato Carrot Puree:

Add the chopped carrots and potatoes in a pot of salted boiling water and cook for about 30 minutes till they turn soft. Then transfer the cooked carrots and potatoes to a food processor. Add mayonnaise, salt, turmeric, ground cumin, garlic powder, curry powder and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle olive oil or butter and process for 20- 30 seconds until creamy.

Preparation of Poached Egg:

First bring water in a saucepan to almost boiling. If the water is already boiling, lower the heat until it is no longer boiling. At this point, you can add one or two teaspoons of vinegar to the water, if you want. The vinegar will help the egg whites to come together more easily.

Crack an egg into a small cup, then place the cup near the surface of the hot water and gently slide the egg into the water. With a spoon, nudge the egg whites closer to their yolks. This will help the egg whites hold together.

Turn off the heat. Cover. Let sit for 4 minutes, until the egg whites are cooked.

Lift eggs out of pan with a slotted spoon.

Plating:

Take a plate and using a spoon place the carrot potato puree in the middle and spread to form a circle. Then place the poached egg on top of the carrot potato puree and the toasted brioche bun on top with some cilantro as garnish.

Catering for an Art Show-4/6/13

Catering for an Art Show-4/6/13

My daughter goes to art classes in a small warm cozy art studio in Maplewood, NJ. The owner is an extremely talented, warm and nice. She was organizing an Art Show at her studio and wanted me to cater some short eats to go with wine for all the people who were invited.  I decided to make Polenta but wanted to make it mess free for people to pick and eat. The first thing that came to my mind was the mini cupcake baking pan. I have baked so many cupcakes and done bake sales for my daughter’s school. I decided to use the cupcake bake pan to mold the polenta. I always try and use Bob’s Corn Grits or Polenta from the supermarket simply because its convenient and easy to prepare.

art 1

geralynThe instructions usually tell you to cook the corn grits with water but I do it differently.

Currylicious Tip: I whisk half heavy cream and half whole milk in a pot until it comes to a boil. Then, I add corn grits and whisk well to avoid lumps. By the way dont polentaask me why I whisk the cream/milk and bring it to a boil:))) lol I just feel that it tastes absolutely delicious when I make it this way!

Once the polenta is creamy and hot, I spooned it into the mini cupcake baking pans and leave it in the refrigerator to set for about 1/2 hour. Once you take them out of the refrigerator, you can scoop out the polenta cupcakes easily. I also made a baked art audienceeggplant dish which i used to top off the polenta cupcakes.

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I also made a Tuscan ChickPea spread with garlic and tomatoes and it was served on toasted bread.

I took all the food to the studio as I was also invited to the Art Show. It was so much fun meeting several people and to see them taste my food and get their feedback and appreciation.

With much love …….