swiss chard & a poached egg on toast

what's with today, today? 10 points if you know what that quote is from! what is with today? the sky is completely gray and it's monday. blah, right? luckily there are about 3 things keeping my spirits up. 1) the coconut pound cake I made for a potluck yesterday 2) emily's earthquake blackout party tonight and 3) this yummy very local dish I put together for meatless monday.

Last Friday, I gave you a little how-to on poaching eggs. You guessed right, I did that on purpose. Well, what I said in that post was 100% true, I'm trying to learn here and that post was part of the experience, but at the same time, I wanted to serve that farm fresh poached egg with my swiss chard from the farmer's market, and if good (which as you can hopefully see, it was) I wanted to share that with you.

Spring produce is a favorite of mine. There was lots of green showing at the market last weekend, and I picked up this rainbow chard, some fava bean leaves (made pesto!, just sub basil for fava leaves for a nuttier, slightly earthier sauce), a couple of artichokes, and some avocados, as well as strawberries (they are so, so good right now), flowers, and eggs.

The bread I used for this dish came from an uber cool local company, sour flour. Thanks, Danny! I was turned onto it from an event I attended last week, and am hooked. It was amazingly delicious, and I am just dying to learn a little more about bread baking from Danny, himself. Hoping to sign up for a class sometime soon!!

 

With that amazing sour dough bread turned to toast, the fresh chard simply sauteed and liberally seasoned, and a wonderfully poached farm fresh egg, I really couldn't ask for a more healthy, quick, and seasonal meal. Hope you enjoy!

Swiss Chard & a Poached Egg on Toast

serves 2 to 4

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large bunch of swiss chard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, diced
1/8 to 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
4 large slices of country bread, grilled or toasted
4 poached eggs (see link)

To clean swiss chard, cut down both sides of stem to remove it. Plunge leaves in a large bowl of water and mix with hands. Let sit for a few minutes, letting dirt fall to bottom. Remove chard, drain water and repeat a few times. Dry chard either with a salad spinner or on towels. Once dry, cut chard into large (1/2-inch wide) ribbons.

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5-8 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and stir for 30 seconds. Add chard and nutmeg and cook until chard is soft, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside, or leave on low heat until ready to serve.

To serve, arrange 1/4 of chard mixture onto each piece of bread. Top with a poached egg and season with a little salt and pepper if desired.