Brooklyn Salt : Spigarello with Poached Eggs

This weekend my goals were to sell my old books at Strand Book Store and to buy a dense, sunflower seed-filled loaf of North Sea Rye bread from Breads Bakery in Union Square because it’s so good and hearty. I carried 50 pounds worth of books on to the train into Manhattan and walked over to Strand in the sweltering heat only to find that they weren’t buying books on that day. I walked out of Strand with that huge, sweaty bag of dead weight in my arms and almost went straight back to Brooklyn...but the pull of the North Sea Rye was too strong.

When I finally made it to Breads Bakery, I walked in covered in a slick coating of sweat, my shirt twisted to the side by the load I was carrying and my hair frizzed out like a hairy aura. All I wanted to do was buy my bread and leave, but I was coerced by an enthusiastic employee into trying a piece of freshly baked cheese stick before I reached the bread counter. It was a damn good piece of cheese stick, but I was on a mission. I bought my bread, threw it in my tote bag on top of my mountain of books and trudged to the train.

On my seven block walk from the train station to my apartment, I considered stopping on the edge of the sidewalk to sell the books to people passing by just so I wouldn’t have to lug them anymore, but I pushed through and made it up two flights of stairs into the lovely air conditioned living room where I saw Gozer the cat curled up right where I left her two hours earlier.

I highly recommend that you go to Breads Bakery to buy a loaf of their North Sea Rye bread; just don’t bring your books. On the way out, if you’re feeling adventurous, stop by the Union Square Greenmarket (on Saturdays) to buy some spigarello broccoli. I'm a huge fan of broccoli and broccoli rabe so as soon as I heard about this broccoli cousin, I was itching to try it. The variety I used was flat and had the bitterness of broccoli rabe, but the curly varieties are supposed to be very mild. Buy the variety that suits your taste buds. If you can't get your hands on spigarello, you can use spinach, kale or broccoli rabe for this simple dish.

RECIPE

Serves 1-2

1 bunch spigarello, washed and stems removed
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs, cracked into a small bowl
Coarse salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Plunge the spigarello into the boiling water for 2-3 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat and then add in the garlic, cooking until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. With tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the spigarello from the boiling water and put it in the saute pan, tossing to coat. Saute for about 3-4 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, turn the heat on the cooking water down to low. When the boiling dies down, swirl the water in the pot gently and slip the eggs into the middle of the whirlpool. Cook the eggs for 5-6 minutes (or however done you like them).

5. When the eggs are done, remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a folded paper towel to soak up any water.

6. Plate the spigarello with the eggs on top. Sprinkle with extra salt and pepper and serve immediately.