While scouring the web in search of a destination Anthony Bourdain once visited which took breakfast very seriously and slowly lessened their food intake as the day went on, I stumbled upon a simple breakfast item direct from Spain. Well, being that my roots are roughly 30% Norwegian and 30% Spaniard I decided to combine the two awesome ethnicities and see what would become of that. I have to admit, this is by far one of my easier dishes and combine several base ingredients I love. Simple, fast and delish!
4 slices rustic bread, cut about 1.5-2 inches thich
½ c olive oil
4 firm Roma tomatoes
Water for boiling
Kosher salt to taste
2 tbs white distilled vinegar
4 large eggs
Prepared gravlax
2 c frisee
Preheat oven to 350°
Brush both sides of your bread with the olive oil, reserving about ½ tbs (this doesn’t have to be exact). Arrange slices on a sheet pan and toast for roughly 2 minutes. Flip and toast until both sides are golden and crusty to the touch (will be hot). Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, get your tomatoes ready by bringing water in a deep sauce pot to a full boil. Carefully put tomatoes into water. Boil until the skin peels right off. Discard skins. Remove tomatoes from water. There is no need to shock your tomatoes because they’re about to go back into a sauté pan.
Once the tomatoes are cooled enough to handle, you can either run them through a ricer or slide them down a box grater using the large grate. Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add tomatoes, reserved olive oil and salt. Sauté until tomatoes turn bright red and liquid has almost completely cooked down. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
While the tomatoes are cooling bring a deep sauce pot of water to a boil. Add vinegar. Return to a boil. Reduce to hard simmer and crack one egg directly over water. Use a spoon or a chopstick to gently swirl water around the egg, folding the egg white over itself. Cook to desired donness. Use a slotted spoon to remove and set aside. If you’re familiar with poaching eggs and feel comfortable with cooking multiple eggs at one time, by all means, do so and save some time. If not, repeat process with remaining eggs.
To assemble, spread about ¼ of the tomato mixture over each slice of rustic bread. Top with a couple slices of gravlax and 1 poached egg. Finish with a little handful of frisee and voila! A perfect breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Girl-Chef Tastes 