Eggs Florentine, Orange-Dill Sauce

This dish makes a vibrant breakfast – colorful, easy, and healthy!

The orange-dill sauce drizzled over the poached eggs has a faint fruit flavor due to the orange juice, a spiciness from the balsamic vinegar, and a hint of the exotic, penetrating flavor of turmeric – a spice relative of ginger. This dish makes a vibrant breakfast – colorful, easy, and healthy.

Food as Medicine

Eggs are a rich source of choline, which is a key component of two substances in the brain – phosphatidycholine and sphingomyelin – that account for a high percentage of the brain’s total mass. Consequently, choline is vital for optimum brain function. Spinach is an extremely nutrient-rich vegetable, with just one cup of boiled spinach containing at least 25 percent of the Daily Value for vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron and vitamin C. Most notable among these nutrients are vitamins K and A, one cup of spinach containing over 1000 percent of the Daily Value of vitamin K and over 375 percent of the Daily Value of vitamin A.

1 pound washed spinach, stems removed

ORANGE AND DILL SAUCE
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter at room temperature
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon white vinegar
6 eggs
3 English muffins, split in half
2 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced

GARNISH
Fresh cracked black pepper (optional)

1. Fill a medium pot with water and bring it to a boil. Drop in the washed spinach and cook for 3 minutes, stirring several times. Drain the spinach in a colander. Put a bowl or plate directly on top of the spinach, inside the colander, and press down to squeeze all excess water from the leaves. Cover and set aside.
2. Fill the bottom of a double boiler halfway with water and place over medium heat. Set the top pot over the water and drop in the egg yolk. Add the orange juice and stir until blended. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and the lemon juice, then the turmeric, salt, and butter. Add 1 teaspoon of the dill and whisk until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended and the sauce has a thick creamy consistency (approximately 2 minutes).
3. Remove the top part of the double boiler and set aside. Pour the white vinegar into the water in the bottom pot and heat it just to the boiling point. Gently crack the eggs one by one into the simmering water, and poach for 3 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and let the water drip from the spoon so they aren’t watery. Transfer the eggs to a warm platter and cover.
4. Toast the English muffins on the middle rack under the broiler. Remove them from the oven and put them on plates. Place 1 tomato slice on each muffin half and spoon 1⁄4 cup of the cooked spinach on top. Arrange 1 poached egg on top of that and drizzle a spoonful or so of the orange-dill sauce over everything. Sprinkle some of the remaining 1 teaspoon of chopped dill and black pepper (optional) over the sauce as garnish. Serve immediately.

Tips from Rosie’s Kitchen
This recipe uses a double boiler. If you do not have one, you can improvise by setting a medium stainless-steel bowl inside a large saucepan, so that the top of the bowl fits snugly onto the top of the pot. If you use this setup, be careful not to burn yourself – the steam from the bottom pot gets very hot!

Andy Suggests
I would happily substitute olive oil for the butter in the Orange and Dill Sauce.