Wild mushrooms bruschetta

I remember as a kid my mom used to make poached eggs on toast all the time. We used to love it when the yolk would run all over the crisp toast. With bacon or without, I have fond memories of that simple meal. Today as an adult I still eat poached eggs on english muffins all the time. I forego the Hollandaise sauce as I find it far too cloying for my tastes. But here I offer an alternative to eggs benedict that will have you fuelled up for your run. It would even satisfy that burning hunger after a good long run.

Wild mushroom bruschetta with pancetta and poached egg. Simple enough. The real focus when getting groceries should be to find some nice fresh wild mushrooms. Chanterelles, oyster, lobster, shitake, and king trumpet are all pretty easy to find, and are perfect for this dish.

1 slice pancetta cut 1″ thick. Cubed (ask your butcher)

2 cups mixed wild mushrooms

3 cloves garlic minced

1.5 tbsp snipped chives

4 slices crusty Italian loaf

4 lg eggs

Olive oil

1 tbsp butter

salt and pepper

In a pan fry the pancetta on med. low heat till crisped and has rendered alot of it’s fat. Drain and set aside. Clean pan. In a pot large enough for all four eggs to fit with room, bring water to a simmer. In the pan from the pancetta put a good 3 tbsp olive in the same pan and raise heat to med high. Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook until they start to color. Add butter and reduce heat to med low. Toast the bread. Working quickly whisk the water in the pot so it creates a current moving in one direction. Break each egg into the flow. Allow to cook at a bare simmer till set. Around 2 minutes. If you prefer your yolks set a little firmer, cook for a further minute. Adjust the seasoning of the mushrooms with salt and pepper to taste. Add reserved pancetta and snipped chives. Place 2 pieces of toast on each plate. Top with mushrooms. With a slotted spoon removed eggs and place on top of mushrooms. Season eggs lightly with a little salt and pepper. Serve.

I prefer to have this dish with some chive cream sauce, but the calories go up quickly this way. I prefer to eat what tastes great and deal with the calories in my training. If you would like to go this route, take 1/2 cup 35% cream and reduce in a pan till reduced by half. Give a squeeze of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 tbsp chopped herbs. In this case the chives would be great again. Spoon this around the 2 toasts on each plate, and enjoy.

This meal is sure to satisfy even the most ravenous hunger. Breakfast , lunch or dinner.

As for my first race of the season. I competed in the Cumberland Duathlon last weekend. I registered in the sprint so I could compare last years time to my performance this year. 2.5 km run/20km bike/2.5 run. I finished in 58:01. A significant improvement over last year. And this dish would have been wonderful afterwords. Sadly I had not thought of it. Next up Ottawa race weekend. I am registered in the half marathon. My goal is to get out in front of the 1:50 pace bunny, and hold on for dear life. Wish me luck. Maybe wild mushroom bruschetta will help me get it done. We’ll see.

Cheers.