Let's talk toast. This is hardly a recipe, more of a collection of ingredients for you to customize. But there are some hardfast components to your toast's success. The manner in which you fry your egg and the bread you use are key. It's imperative that this latter element be really delicious, grade-A quality bread. You don't have to use sourdough, like my personal choice...you could use leftover baguette, a super grainy whole wheat or gluten free if that's your thing. Your choice. Just make sure it's a delicious bread that floats your boat, has good structure and can withstand the rigors of avocado, tomatoes + eggs on top. Soggy, floppy toast is unacceptable here.
Now for the egg... I use what is considered a Spanish fried egg technique, but I don't follow it completely. It shakes down like this... First, grab yourself a small sauté pan; I prefer my non-stick for this. Fill it with about 4 tablespoons of olive oil and get it screaming hot. I like it just to the point of almost-smoking, but not. Have your egg already cracked in a bowl and gently slide it into the piping hot oil. Immediately tilt your sauté pan and spoon the hot oil on top of the whites of the egg. Full cooking time should take no more than a minute and a half for the whites to be cooked (but not rubbery) and the yolk still runny. For it to be a true Spanish fried egg, we would need to get the bottom and outter reaches of the egg crispy and golden. I stop short of that, but feel free to go all the way. I guarantee you will no longer cook a sunny side up egg any other way... this just makes them perfect. Every. Time.
Best part is? Breakfast (or lunch) in under 10 minutes.
Makes 1 (scale-up accordingly)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 piece of good quality, delicious bread
- 1/4 ripe avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 lime wedge
- 1/2 small heirloom tomato (does it have to be heirloom? NO!!! It's what I used and they're gorgeous...feel free to improvise here), thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 sprig fresh cilantro
- 1 pinch of sea salt (I used Himalayan Pink Salt...you can get it at Costco...it's completely delicious)
- 1 crank of pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Toast or grill your bread to the desired bronze.
- Smear half of your avocado slices on the toast with the back of a fork.
- Lay the rest of the slices on top.
- Squeeze the lime over the top of the avocado. Don't skip this. It's a game changer.
- Layer the tomato slices on top.
- Heat up the 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a small, nonstick sauté pan over medium high heat. Get it to the point just prior to smoking. Whist that is heating up, crack your egg in a small bowl. Have a small spoon handy.
- When the oil is screaming hot (but not smoking or burning), gently pour your egg in and tilt the pan and spoon the hot oil over the top of the egg whites, avoiding the yolk. Do this for about a minute-ish, until the white part is set. I find that leveling the pan disperses the oil and makes it easier to see if the white part is done. Remove the egg from the pan with a slotted spoon or spatula. If you'd like a true Spanish fried egg, keep the egg on the heat longer until the edges start to turn George Hamilton golden brown.
- Lay the egg on top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cilantro leaves. Done. That didn't take more than 10 minutes, did it? Amazing. Let's do this every. Day.
*All Photos: Rebecca Firth