This post is sponsored by wholesome, nutrient rich, and delicious Eggland’s Best.
I LOVE poached eggs. There’s something about them that makes a dish more special. Julia Child referred to them as “the purest and loveliest of ways to cook eggs.” Personally, I love the golden yolk that sits in a cloud of pillowy whites. And who doesn’t love piercing the yolk with a fork and watching the warm cascade of liquid gold pour out across the plate. They definitely add a WOW factor!
I make a lot of poached eggs, so I know a thing or two about them. To make a perfectly poached egg, freshness is KEY, and let me tell you, Eggland’s Best goes above and beyond to ensure I get the freshest. In fact, they’ve created a 27 point quality and freshness program to make sure of it! Plus, they contain more than double the Omega-3’s, and 10x more vitamin E than ordinary eggs. Now that’s a ‘WOW factor’!
Eggs are my favorite way to jazz up a dish, especially using Eggland’s Best. Not only are they a great source of protein, but Eggland’s Best eggs contain 25% less saturated fat than an ordinary egg and are only 60 calories a pop! What’s not to love?!
There are some dishes that are worth a little extra time and effort. Risotto is one of those dishes. Often associated with fancy restaurants, that perception couldn’t be further from what the dish truly is – the pinnacle of Italian home cooking and comfort food.
Risotto is not a difficult dish, but it is a dish that requires your attention and a bit of organization. Don’t let this intimidate you! Like any good kitchen survivalist, preparation is key.
That being said, I have a very, very bad habit of reading a recipe as I cook. This often translates to accomplishing little or no prep work, leading to frantically dicing vegetables while trying to continuously stir what’s in the pan so that it doesn’t burn. Do yourself a favor, get your mise en place (organization of ingredients) together, measure everything out before starting, and read through the recipe directions prior to cooking so you have an idea of what needs to be done. Trust me, this will make things so much easier.
If you’re not familiar with making risotto, you may be surprised to know that once you’ve toasted the rice and started adding the chicken stock, it should only take you 18 minutes. That’s it! Done. Finito. Put down the spoon and walk away. Well… don’t totally walk away. We still need to cook the Eggland’s Best eggs, a.k.a., the pièce de résistance.
So how do we make a perfectly poached egg?
- As we discussed earlier, a fresh egg is key to making a perfectly poached egg and the easiest way to ensure that you’re getting they quality of freshness you need, is to use Eggland’s Best.
- Fill a saucepan 2/3 of the way full with water and bring the water to a boil.
- Add a tablespoon of white vinegar. It’s not enough to affect the taste, but it will help prevent ‘feathering’ of the egg whites.
- Take the heat down. You want a gentle simmer. If your water is boiling too vigorously, you’ll tear the delicate egg whites apart.
- Crack the eggs into separate bowls. Carefully slide them each into the water, as close to the waters surface as possible.
- Set your timer for 3 minutes for perfectly runny yolks.
- Using a slotted spoon, carefully lift them out of the water, gently pat dry with a paper towel, and place on top of a portioned out bowl of risotto. Now you’re ready to eat!
There’s no denying that risotto is a creamy spoonful of heaven. Add the luscious yolk of an egg split open and cascading over the rice, and you’ve got one egg-ceptional dish. Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself 😉
- [b]Mushroom Risotto:[/b]
- 1 pound assorted mushrooms (I used shiitake, oyster, and white button)
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cups good quality low sodium chicken stock
- 7 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 shallots, minced
- 3 cups Arborio rice
- 1 cup dry white wine, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons parsley, roughly chopped
- [b]Poached Egg:[/b]
- 4 Eggland’s Best eggs
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- [b]Instructions for the Risotto:[/b]
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Slice the assorted mushrooms and toss with the olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread out evenly on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once done, set aside.
- In a large pot, bring the stock to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the porcini mushrooms. Cover and soak for 20 minutes.
- Fish out the mushrooms, slice, and keep the reserved porcini-infused broth warm.
- Fill a large saucepan 2/3 of the way full with water, add a tablespoon of vinegar, and set it on the stove. Do not heat the water yet, this is for poaching the eggs later.
- Back to the risotto: In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Add the shallots and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high, add the rice and stir until grains are translucent with a white dot in the center, about 3 minutes.
- Add the wine and keep stirring until the liquid is absorbed.
- Add a ladleful of the stock, stirring constantly. Wait until the stock is nearly completely absorbed before adding the next ladleful (never let the rice dry out). Continue adding stock and stirring in this manner for 18 minutes. ([i]About halfway through the 18 minutes, bring the saucepan of water for the poached eggs, to a boil[/i]). Ok, back to the risotto again. Taste the risotto. It should be al dente after 18 minutes. If it is, you may stop adding the stock. If you feel that it needs to go longer, continue adding the broth one ladleful at a time until you have reached the desired texture.
- Once you have reached the desired texture, add the last 2 tablespoons of butter, porcini mushrooms as well as half of the roasted assorted mushrooms, and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- [b]Instructions for Poaching Eggs:[/b]
- Take the heat down from the pot of water you’ve heated. You want a gentle simmer. If your water is boiling too vigorously, you’ll tear the delicate egg whites apart.
- Crack the eggs into separate bowls. Carefully slide them each into the water, as close to the waters surface as possible. Set your timer for 3 minutes for perfectly runny yolks. While the eggs are cooking, portion out the bowls of risotto.
- Using a slotted spoon, carefully lift them out of the water and gently pat dry with a paper towel.
- To serve, top the risotto with the remaining half of the roasted mushrooms, a poached egg, and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve and enjoy!
Hi it’s me again…I’m blog stalking today 🙂 Can I tell you? My favorite food is risotto. Like in the whole world. Whenever we go out and risotto is on the menu I am sure to order it. Hubs doesn’t get it, but frankly I do not get what there is NOT to get, Creamy rice, cheesy heaven…what’s not to get?!? Anyhow, I love the poached egg on here it’s so dreamy…
Looks delicious! I love poached eggs over risotto!
Thank you, Sabrina. I think poached eggs make everything better.
My favorite risotto and I love the addition of a creamy yolk. Great recipe. When I perfected my poached eggs it was an exciting moment, it’s the little things 🙂
It’s totally the little things! I remember the first egg I poached – it was such a satisfying feeling!
Ahhhh! Creamy risotto and a perfectly poached egg? Almost too much to handle… Almost! This looks amazing! Brava, my friend!
Grazie mille mia cara amica 🙂
I couldn’t agree with you more on EVERYTHING you wrote. Risotto is the essence of comforting yet classy Italian cuisine. It’s one of my favorites, but I also like to fit into my jeans, so I don’t eat it toooo often 😉 And, a poached egg on top of ANYTHING rocks the dang house! I LOVE poached eggs, but I’m allergic to yolks (not deathly allergic like cocoa) HOWEVER I will totally buckle up to the pain to devour them. They are simply glorious and you are right that oozing yellow silky yolk makes my heart sing! This is such a great dish, girlfriend! Everything about it screams classy, get in my belleh, deliciousness! And now I’m supa hungry. Thanks? Lol. Cheers, pretty! <3
Omg… you’re allergic to yolks! Personally, I could deal with the cocoa – I’m not a big sweets person. But egg yolk…. oh girl, I don’t know how you do it! Though I guess it’s not too bad since you said you can still eat them 🙂
I do love the idea of an egg over risotto. I am also always amused when people think that risotto is difficult and that it takes a long time. i love mushroom risotto – it’s perfect.
Thanks, Tania! I agree. I wish everyone would try their hand at risotto – I’m sure they’d be pleasantly surprised 🙂
I swear topping anything with a runny egg makes any meal that much more delicious!
I couldn’t agree with you more, Thalia.
YUM this looks gorgeous – I too am guilty of popping a poached egg on the top of many meals just to experience the gooey yolk dripping through it. Love the mushroom risotto too, it looks gorgeous!
Thanks, Claudia! Don’t you just love cutting into the yolk?! It’s like the adult version of popping bubble wrap 😉 So satisfying.
Love eggs and this is a great way to cook them! Such a gorgeous dish, easy to make! England’s best are awesome!
Thanks, Mira! 🙂
Kathleen, I also LOVE poached eggs and just eggs period!!! My fave way to make eggs .. although I probably make poached eggs the least! My kids always win with the hard boiled, fried and scrambled . . this mushroom risotto looks AMAZING!!! oh my gawd. . delicious!!!!
I’m with you, Alice! I love eggs – of all sorts, but poached is definitely my fav!The funning thing is that I didn’t like poached eggs as a kid. So maybe you’re kids will be asking you for them to be prepared this way one day 😉
I whole heartedly agree – “the pinnacle of Italian home cooking and comfort food.” And even the most simple of risottos is SO beautiful when made properly with a good stock.
So….I can’t believe it. I have never actually timed how long it takes to make a risotto. But you are right! It probably is only around 18 minutes (to be exact!). People always talk about how long it takes…. but it’s so exaggerated!!
PS Thank you for giving me the will power to try my hand at poached eggs. I don’t know why but I am terrified of them after a number of failed attempts. I will wait until I get fresh eggs at the markets this weekend then try!
Pinning, of course. Your photos….so beautiful. I am liking SF for your blog!! 😉
Yeah, I’m not really sure why risotto got the bad rap for being time consuming. Perhaps it’s because once you start, you can’t stop. I have a short attention span, but even I can dote over something for 18 minutes 😉
We all have our achillies heel. Mine is making pie dough – what a mess! But knowing your brilliant tastes, I bet you could really make some ridiculous dishes with a poached egg!
And yes, Hapa Nom Nom is loving the light out here in SF! 🙂
I need to show this post to my husband because he just can’t see why anyone would eat eggs in this way. I, on the other hand, love them! And they’re so perfect with risotto … have you tried it with a smoked fish risotto. That’s really good too, but love the idea of mushroom! Just need to get rid of the hubs for an evening so I can make a big bowl of this all for me!
What! Oh I’m definitely ‘team-egg-on-top’! Well that’s ok, that means more for you and I, right?! I haven’t tried it with smoked fish risotto, but that sounds fantastic! I’ll have to try that next time 🙂
Wish we lived closer, I’d share with you 😉
Poached eggs over carbs…delicious! This looks so good. I’m sure the poached egg just adds to the creaminess of the risotto.
Thanks, Vineetha! You are so right! The yolk makes this dish uber creamy and delicious!
Mushroom risotto and poached looks like an awesome combo, Kathleen! I love how delicious and flavorful and comforting this meal is! YUM!
Thank you my dear 🙂 This is definitely great comfort food!
There is something so tantalizing about that those clouds of pillowy whites and liquid gold that always make me swoon. This is a lovely, mouth-watering risotto, Kathleen! Yum!
You and me both, Thao! Thank you for your kind words, as always 🙂