what’s cookin’? simple summer salad.

by victoria comment

it’s definitely salad season around my house. if you’ve followed me on snapchat lately i’ve made both a yummy cucumber dill salad and a watermelon, feta & basil salad this week. and now i’m making one of my favorite summer meals — poached eggs over asparagus. it’s so simple and a nice light brunch, lunch or dinner. the folks at martha stewart asked if i might like to try out their beautiful Tri-Ply Copper Cookware set in exchange for a fun little recipe and they had me at ‘copper’! i love to cook and really like sharing easy recipes here for you, so i was thrilled to take them up on it.

first off, though — these copper pots and pans are so pretty, we thought we’d go a little ‘julia child’ on you and display them against some pretty white pegboard — so easy to do (i got both the white hooks and the pegboard on amazon). i think this look would be smashing and a really efficient use of space in a small kitchen. but, i digress, on to the recipe — ready? this is a snap.

i boiled water in both the large and small copper saucepans. for the poached eggs the trick to getting them to stay in a nice round shape is to add a dash of white vinegar to the water — it holds the eggs together ‘scientifically’ somehow — trust me. for the eggs, like to cook mine about 5 minutes max so the yolk is a little bit runny. for the asparagus, add them when the water is boiling for about 3-5 minutes max (until tender, but not wilting).

remove the asparagus to a platter; add the poached eggs on top. then i shave a little lemon zest over them; shave some pecorino romano cheese on top and add sea salt and ground pepper. i use maldon’s salt because it’s the best! and there you have it — a really easy and light summer meal. you could add toast or maybe some canadian bacon if you’re really hungry, but this is just right for a light breakfast or lunch. bon appetít!

• photography by lily glass for sfgirlbybay.