Caesar Salad with Poached Egg

I do love a good Caesar salad. I love them plain, I love them with grilled chicken, I love them with shrimp. I am brimming with love for Caesar salad. I am also brimming with love for poached eggs, as those of you who have read this blog for a while already know. So when Caesar salad meets poached eggs...heaven.

This recipe calls for a couple of slices of bread as the base, and luckily I had a few slices left over from my baguette baking, but you can use any kind of country-ish bread you have on hand. Next comes layers of romaine lettuce, and unlike the standard Caesar salad, I leave these whole, just because it looks so fancy that way. Next...oh happiness!...comes the poached egg. There is one in the picture above but if you want to go really crazy, you can use TWO! Drizzle with the quick Caesar dressing in recipe, then grind some pepper over the top, and finally finish with a scattering of really nice Parmesan cheese. One of my friends gave me a big wedge of Parmesan that she brought me back from her vacation to Italy, and it is so unbelievably good that I am practically doling it out shred by shred. I'm not sure what I am going to do when it is gone and I have to go back to my usual Parmesan cheese, now that I have been so incredibly spoiled. That's the cheese I used for this recipe, because a great Parmesan makes a big difference in this one.

Anyway. That's all there is to this one, but it makes a great light meal, and if you poach the egg just right, when you cut it open the egg will mix with the dressing, and you will eat the whole thing with a blissful smile on your face. I promise.

CAESAR SALAD WITH POACHED EGG

Serves 4

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup olive oil plus extra for drizzling
• 4 slices country bread, lightly toasted
• Romaine lettuce leaves
• 4 to 8 poached eggs, depending if you are using one or two per salad

1. Put mayo, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons cheese in food processor and blend until smooth. Add oil in a steady stream until creamy and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Lay bread on plates. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Lay lettuce leaves on top of bread, and top lettuce with egg or eggs.

4. Drizzled dressing over all. Grind pepper on top, and scatter remaining cheese over eggs. Serve immediately.