Eggs Florentine (kinda)

Boy have I been a bad blogger! Whew! Since getting back to Milan after the Holidays, I've been repeating a lot of my old recipes, muffuletta sandwich, flamiche, braised short ribs, etc., so I haven't had anything new to say to you all. Luckily, Gabriel came up with a great lunch dish yesterday of poached eggs on a bed of sauteed spinach, itself resting on buttered toast. Yum! It was like a delicious but healthier version of Eggs Benedict. The classic Florentine includes sauce mornay - basically a bechamel with cheese but Gabriel replaced that with simple grated parmesan. More flavor, less ooziness. Since we've been getting weekly shipments of organic vegetables (mainly spinach and spinachy things like Swiss chard) we need to do something with the veggies before the next case shows up at our door, so I give you Eggs Florentine (kinda)

for 2 people:

1 pound (450 grams) fresh washed spinach (seems like a lot but we really needed to use up this week's spinach)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
4 eggs
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 large slices toast
1 tbsp butter
grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Sauteeing spinach: In large sautee pan, fry the garlic in the oil until is is blond, then add the spinach by handfuls stirring and turning the cooked bottom leaves over the raw ones at the top. Continue to sautee until all the spinach is completely wilted and the volume has reduced considerably. Leave in the pan off the heat until your eggs have been poached.

Poaching eggs: Gabriel did a bit of culinary blog research before attempting to poach the eggs. He found a genial idea (sadly I don't know from which blog) to place each raw egg into a tea cup and to drop the whole cup (right side up) into boiling water with vinegar and to allow the eggs to cook that way. The eggs stayed in the cups in the boiling water for 3 minutes. Note to serve hot Eggs Florentine: at the last minute of poaching, turn the heat on under the spinach again to re-warm it and place your bread in the toaster so that all three elements are as hot as they can be when you serve.

Assembling the dish: Place a piece of buttered toast on each plate. Sprinkle with parmesan. Arrange half the spinach on to each toast and then gently scoop the eggs onto the spinach. Shake a little salt and pepper over and serve immediately. Music to serve eggs Florentine by: "Eggs on a Plate" by Iggy Pop. Enjoy!