Maccha Salt and Maccha Poached Eggs

I bought Eric Gower's The Breakaway Cook when it came out last year but hadn't cooked from it much. I made the Maccha Salt, one of his "Five Flavored Salts", and used it quite a bit with fish and vegetables and then took the idea and made a curry salt that I use a lot. Other than that I really have not used this book or his The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen, which I also purchased. (My name is Deb and I am a Cookbookoholic... Hi Deb!) That is about to change as I was reading them again looking for a recipe for the Weekend Cookbook Challenge: Farmer's Markets (which I'll post about later in the week) and realized that there are some great recipes in these books.

I tried the Maccha Poached Eggs this morning. I am usually a fruit and yogurt girl for breakfast but once in awhile I do like some eggs and this simple recipe using the maccha salt sounded yummy.

Maccha Poached Eggs

The Breakaway Cook, Eric Gower

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Dab of unsalted butter for poaching cups or 1 Tbsp vinegar

4 large eggs, preferably organic

Generous sprinkling of Maccha Salt, (see recipe below)

Generous sprinkling of freshly ground pepper

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Butter the poaching cups if you're using a dedicated egg poacher (Eric's favored method). Or bring a pot of water to a simmer, add the vinegar, and carefully crack the eggs into the simmering water. Poach the eggs until the yolks are more or less halfway between liquid and solid, 4-5 minutes for both methods.

Gently turn them out on a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture. Roll them onto a warmed plate and add a few healthy pinches of maccha salt and black pepper. Eat them while still very hot.

In the book, Eric says "There is something almost celestial about the fusion of the green tea and the egg yolks: it's savory, sweet, and salty all at once." I think he is right, a few sprinkles of the maccha salt elevates the eggs to a whole different level, it complements then so well. I somehow ended up not having any vinegar other than some rice vinegar in the house so I poached the eggs in two little covered cups in the microwave. I served them on a couple of pieces of toasted multi-grain baguette, with some cherry tomatoes and as Eric suggests, a strong cup of green tea. A great light, easy breakfast for a Sunday morning. If you don't like poached eggs, I think the salt would be good on any egg--scrambled, fried, hard-boiled, etc. And how good would it be on top of a deviled egg!?

Maccha Flavored Salt from The Breakaway Cook

Combine 1/4 cup sel gris or other coarse sea salt and 1 tsp powdered maccha green tea. Whirl in the blender or food processor for a finer grind. Store in a bowl or small glass jar. (Note: Sometimes I just mix the maccha with a finer, kosher salt--using the same proportions).

I know I said I was going to work towards cooking one thing from each of my cookbooks but there will be more to come from this book and Breakaway Japanese Kitchen this week.