Fried Egg, Smoked Paprika Mushrooms, Cashews, Cilantro Juice

Of course, I've had the classic runny egg over asparagus dozens of times, with nothing but appreciative bouts of sighs and moans.    But after a recent dinner at Blue Hill, I realized that I've only really experienced the  joys of the runny egg on either asparagus, or as a garnish for a starch.    Blue Hill served a  runny, poached farm fresh egg in what I vaguely remember as a watercress broth.   Vibrantly green, the fresh, herbal qualities of the cress inspired me to consider what other bursts of garden freshness could match well with a runny egg.

Certainly, I needed texture as well.   Something to absorb all of the rich, eggy runniness.   I had a ton of cremini mushrooms on hand.    As they were really the main partner for my runny egg, I kept the 'shrooms whole to add a substantive quality to the dish.    I sauteed them in a bit of olive oil, smoked paprika, cayenne and a touch of garlic near their conclusion in the pan.   I roasted some whole cashews in an effort to add a crunchy texture to the dish.

The Blue Hill inspiration came in at the end, when I juiced a bunch of cilantro as my herbal, garden fresh component to the dish.    I ran the cilantro under very hot tap water for only a minute or two.    Blanching the herbs in a traditional manner leaches out some of the raw,  garden fresh flavors I was after.      I thought about making a vinaigrette with the cilantro juice, but wanted to keep the flavors really pure.     After placing the fried egg on the mushroom and cashews, I simply spooned some of the cilantro juice around the plate, with a squeeze of lemon juice around the cilantro.     The cilantro juice was not overpowering whatsoever, to my surprise. After the runny egg was broken, the yoke, cilantro and mushrooms became a single medley of flavors.    The earthiness of the mushroom and the smoky depth of flavor from the paprika were enhanced by the egg yoke, then accented by the fresh, garden flavor of the cilantro juice.    

Comments

[sam]

That is inspiring.

[Roberto]

Very nice flavor combinations, a new delight for the perfect egg.

[sugarlaw]

I knew I would like this before I even saw the picture -- with ingredients like that, how could you possibly go wrong?