Smoked salmon, spinach and poached egg bagel

A little while ago – almost four weeks to the day – two things happened – I had my work Christmas party, which also coincided with my last day of my job in Yorkshire. Leaving party + a festive shindig did certainly render me, the next morning, into a certain feeling of disrepair. It is, I guess, an eventuality. As I had a one of my favourite colleagues staying over (as the event took place in my village local, all of 300 metres from home) it seemed like a sensible idea to offer up my spare room for the night. In spite of the pickling and general liver abuse I endured (self-inflicted – no sympathy expected), I thought in a slightly jaded state to come up with something a little more interesting than a bacon sandwich in the hope that hangover pains could be sedated the morning after.

Not only does smoked salmon freeze very well, it also defrosts very quickly. I will invariably have a couple of packets in reserve lurking in the back of the freezer, and in spite of my fragile condition, was definitely up for the challenge of cobbling together a new brunch recipe. Surprisingly, I managed to remember to take a pack of smoked salmon out of the freezer and and put it in the fridge to defrost overnight. Miracles never cease.

This recipe is what I hope is a relatively unique brunch idea, and better still, really simple to make. Once you have cobbled together a couple of bagels, smoked salmon, spinach and egg, you are pretty much there.  I hope you enjoy this Smoked salmon, spinach and poached egg bagel recipe as much as I did putting this together.

Should smoked salmon be one of your things, I do have some other recipes you may also want to try out. These include: Scrambled egg and smoked salmon tortilla wrap; Smoked Salmon, Dill, and Red Onion Omelette; and Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Bundle.

Next on my list of things to try is making bagels from scratch – it is just a matter of time. Please do not be surprised if this recipe has a refresh meaning that everything is made from scratch (although I will consider catching, filleting, and smoking the salmon a step too far!).

Smoked salmon, spinach and poached egg bagel

Richard Bewley

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Brunch

Cuisine Central European

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

• 2 x bagels sliced in half and lightly toasted
• 2 large slices of smoked salmon
• A drizzle of olive oil
• 2 x large free-range eggs
• a handful of baby spinach leaves
• Half a lemon quarter juiced, remainder cut into wedges as a garnish
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp white wine or cider vinegar
• freshly milled black pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• First, slice the bagels in half across the centre and lightly toast in a toaster. Pre-heat the grill to a medium-high heat.
• Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil (I prefer a large skillet deep enough to ensure that a submerged egg is fully covered), add a teaspoon of salt and the vinegar. Vinegar is used to prevent the eggs from sticking together. Once boiling, reduce the temperature to a gentle simmer.
• Next, place the salmon slices on the bottom half of each toasted bagel, and place under a grill for 2-3 minutes, or until the salmon has changed to a pale pink colour. remove from grill, drizzle with freshly squeezed lemon juice and grind a little black pepper. Loosely cover with a sheet of tin foil to keep warm.
• Individually break each egg into a ramekin, and gently tip into the simmering water. After 3-4 minutes, gently remove with a slotted spoon, and carefully press down on the top on the egg to check firmness. As I personally prefer a runny egg, I will consider the egg ready once the white of the egg is a firmer texture.
• Add a few baby spinach leaves over the salmon, drizzle a little olive oil, then carefully place the poached egg on top.
• Serve warm with a wedge of lemon to garnish.

Notes

Please note - I have not added any butter to this recipe - the main reason is that I find the oil from the smoked salmon and lemon juice sufficiently moist enough to prevent the bagel from being too dry.
if you do not have spinach leaves at hand, why not try rocket, watercress, or even a combination of all three?