Due to my new braces, I’ve been seeking recipes featuring softer foods that aren’t baby food. Smoothies are great, but as some point you need something more substantial. This is a recipe adapted from Cultured Foods for Your Kitchen by Leda Scheintaub. Prior to my new hardware, I’d been reading up and playing around with fermented foods. This book is a great resource for recipes and tips on how to incorporate ferments into your daily meals. With all our extra eggs from the gals, we were looking for an excuse to catch up with the growing pile in our fridge. Poached eggs are a wonderful way to cook eggs into a soft, satisfying  meal that leaves much of the nutrients from the yolk intact. Enjoy!

Turkish-Style Poached Eggs

Ingredients

• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 2-3 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Large pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 6-8 farm fresh eggs
• 2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar (such as Braggs)
• 2 tbsp cultured butter (or regular butter)
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• Pinch of Cayenne
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped pistachios

Directions

• Put the yogurt in a bowl and whisk in the garlic, salt and pepper. Divide yogurt amongst plates (two or three depending on how many your are feeding).
• Prepare a shallow pot of water (3-4″ deep) on the stove. Add vinegar. Heat until water just starts to bubble (important, a few bubbles are ok when you add the eggs, as the temperature will drop when you add them, however, too much bubbles and it will break up your lovely eggs!).
• Crack all of your eggs into one measuring glass. When the water is at the right temperature, gently swirl to form a whirlpool. Ever so gently, pour the eggs into the water all at once. Cook eggs from about 3-4 minutes, or when whites are solid and the yolks hold there shape and appear firm.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs and place on a clean towel to drain (eggs in the spoon still).
• Place a small skillet on medium heat on the stove. Quickly melt butter and sprinkle in the smoked paprika and cayenne. Let butter sizzle for about one minute.
• Placed poached eggs onto of yogurt on plate. Pour over spiced butter on top of eggs and top with a pinch of salt and pistachios.
• If you like, serve with a side of toast (my husband likes to dip the bread in the yolk-yogurt sauce).