breakfast salad

This is what I want to eat all the time lately — and have, in fact, been eating practically daily for the past week. It's called a "breakfast salad," but I've made it for dinner, too.

Here's the deal: Soft-boiled eggs and buttered toast meet leafy greens. (The original recipes calls for arugula, but I've been using spinach because I have a lot on hand.) I love to douse this with a good amount of lemon juice, too. You've got the eggs and toast to sustain you, but the end result is light and fresh. The mix of textures — soft eggs, crunchy bread — is great, too.

Breakfast (or anytime) Salad
adapted from Yummy Supper
serves 1

one or two eggs, at room temperature
one or two slices of your favorite bread for toasting (I like sourdough)
unsalted butter
handful of leafy greens (arugula, spinach, etc.)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
juice and zest of half a lemon

Bring your eggs to room temperature by submerging them in a bowl of really warm, but not boiling hot, tap water.

Fill a small sauce pan with 3 to 4 inches of water. Bring to a boil.

Put the bread in the toaster.

When the water is boiling, reduce to a nice, even simmer. Using a slotted spoon, gently lower the eggs into the pan and set a timer to 5 minutes and 15 seconds. As the eggs cook, dump out the bowl of water used to warm the uncooked eggs. Refill this bowl with cold water and a few ice cubes. When the timer goes off, use a slotted spoon to transfer the eggs immediately into the ice water bath. Let them cool slightly as you make the rest of the salad.

When the toast is ready, butter it and tear into small pieces. Nestle the pieces into a bowl with the leafy greens. Toss with salt and pepper to taste, as well as the lemon juice and zest.

Use a serrated knife to cut off the top of the egg(s). Scoop the egg(s) out of the shell and place on top of the toast and greens. (I've also simply rolled the eggs gently to remove the shell, and then sliced in half). EAT.