Eggs and Roasted Asparagus over Polenta

The highlight of the weekend [besides seeing the lovely Lanny] was definitely stumbling upon an Italian ceramics warehouse [new espresso mugs, saucers, and a spoon rest] and finishing up SPQR. I read it cover to cover, and actually love it more for the wine information than the recipes. Don’t get me wrong, I’d gladly eat anything made from the book [squid ink linguine with braised squid, sea urchin, broccoli crema, and pan grattato please], but I am not going to be making a lot of it any time soon. The knowledge dropped on the wine was pretty expansive by region, but not super overwhelming. I like to think I’m pretty good with the Piedmonte and Tuscan regions, but that’s about it. There is the rest of the country to consider [trying to get back in 2014 for Southern Italy]. There are so many grapes, so many varietals, so much to be tasted. Did I start a list of wines to try on my phone so I can check the store next time I’m there? Absolutely. 

The rest of the weekend was pretty dang incredible. It’s culminated into one lazy Sunday, a batch of brownies cooling from the oven, and a bottle of wine about to be opened. I’d like to see the Timbers win on the road, too. That’d make it all a little sweeter. I’m eating brownies either way.

As expected I didn’t make a single meal at home this weekend, except for putting some cheese and charcuterie on the board. Sometimes that’s just not in the cards, and that’s totally okay. Pork cheeks, chèvre and strawberry-rhubarb jam ice cream, breakfast burritos, and a deli cobb salad with huge chunks of pastrami aren’t the type of things I make. I’ll gladly outsource.

I did make this for breakfast one weekend, though. It’s so, so easy. I’m convinced it takes just as long as it does to toast some bread, which I absolutely wasn’t feeling with my eggs. Living across from the fridge has serious perks. I can get local eggs, fresh asparagus, and a block of polenta in about the time it takes for my broiler to heat up. This really doesn’t take a whole lot of cooking; it’s more like assembly [except for the eggs]. If I hadn’t been so lazy, I’d have poached, but I just fried the egg so I got the oozy yolk any-damn-way.

Inspiration: Happyolks

Ingredients

• 4-6 eggs [I had two, Andrew had three]
• 1 bunch of asparagus, thick stalky ends trimmed off
• 1lb tube of premade polenta [told you I was lazy]
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• pecorino romano
• parsley, chopped fine

Preparation

Turn the broiler on high. Toss the asparagus on a bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Make sure every piece is coated. I like to use my hands hear just to get it over with. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil in the oven for 5-7 minutes until the ends start to char. Set aside.

Cut the polenta into slices or cubes and toss it in a saucepan with 1/4 cup of broth and a healthy pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper. Heat it on medium high heat and stir to incorporate. As it heats, it’ll breakdown and absorb the water, smoothing it’s consistency. I ended up adding almost another 1/4 cup to get it to a thick paste. Add more water or broth if you’d like it thinner. Shave a bit of pecorino in there to melt as it cooks down.

Fry or poach your eggs to your degree of doneness. Arrange on a plate with the polenta first, topped by 1/3 of the asparagus, followed by 1-2 eggs. Top with the parsley and more shredded pecorino.