You’ll need to have all your ingredients ready to go before you start. It is a quick and easy dish but requires a little multi-tasking. The basil aioli needs to be made in advance.

• Rinse your asparagus and gently snap off the ends. Go as close the the ends as possible until you find the snapping point. Discard these. Place the asparagus, tips up, in a steamer or colander that fits inside your pot (with about 3 inches of water in the bottom). If it sticks up too much for a lid, cover it with tinfoil so that it can steam.
• Slice your sourdough (you can follow this recipe, adding chopped olives when you take out some dough for the next day’s starter), or you can use a decent olive loaf or sourdough from a good bakery.
• Fill a small pan with water and bring it to the boil.
• Peel two small cloves of garlic but leave them whole.
• Get your eggs ready and crack the first one into a teacup. This is easier than cracking it straight into a the pan.
• Get a slotted, spoon, plate and kitchen towel ready.
• If you need a quick refresher on how to poach an egg, take a minute to read through this.
• Right, let’s get ready to rumble!
• Turn your grill on to heat up for your toast.
• Put the asparagus pot on the stove on high heat to steam.
• Put your sourdough slices under the grill.
• Put a spoonful of vinegar into your boiling water, turning the heat down slightly so it is not at a rolling boil.
• Swish the water around with a spoon and gently plop your egg into the middle of the mini whirlpool.
• Crack your second egg into the cup and set aside.
• Watch your poaching egg carefully, as soon as the egg is opaque take it out with a slotted spoon and let drain on the kitchen towel.
• Re-whirl the whirlpool, and plop your second egg into the pan.
• Check your toast and turn it over.
• Set out your plates.
• Drain the second egg and add the third (or fourth etc.)
• Take your toast out (if it is ready) and place a slice on each plate. Rub all over with the clove of garlic as for bruschetta.
• Check your asparagus. It should be bright green and tender with a slight bite to it.
• Drain and place several stalks on each piece of toast.
• Settle a poached egg on top of the asparagus and drizzle with the garlic aioli.
• sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper, maldon salt and some greek basil.
• Eat quickly so the softly poached yolk soaks into everything.

Thank you for trying a Vanielje Kitchen recipe.

I hope it fed you mind, body and soul.

Tags: asparagus, basil, bread, mayonnaise, poached egg, sourdough

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