Asparagus with Poached Egg, Truffle Oil, and Shaved Pecorino

Another yummy lunch treat. Or brunch. Or an appetizer for dinner. Either way, really. All I know is it's simple and delicious and pretty healthy. What more could you ask for?

Just toss some asparagus with oil, salt and pepper, and roast in the over until tender for about 10-15min at 500F.

If you think that's too high, then you should check out this video on Chow.com about roasting vegetables. The reason you need the oven to be so hot is that you want the veggies to caramelize and get deliciously crispy, and not all mushy and soggy. So in order to achieve that you should make sure you leave plenty of room on your baking sheet, and I also always pat my veggies dry before tossing with the olive oil. Kinda like when you are browning meat. Same idea. Pat dry, don't crown the pan, keep the heat up. Can't go wrong if you keep this in mind.

Now onto the poached egg. I LOVE poached eggs. Absolutely one of my favorite ways to eat an egg. I have one of these little nifty inserts that you just drop into a small skillet, then break your egg into one of the cups (I always oil mine, just in case,) and sprinkle with a little salt. Fill the pan with some water, bring to a gentle simmer, cover with a tight fitting lid, and cook for maybe 2-3 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs poached. I just kind poke at the center with my finger and see how jiggly the yolk is. It should be kinda like jello... still jiggly, but not watery feeling. It will continue to firm up for a few seconds after you turn off the heat, so I always err on the side of too runny. But that's just me. :-) When you think it's done, carefully pull the egg out (I use a big flat spoon, or sometimes just my fingers,) plop it right on top of your asparagus, sprinkle with salt, pepper, a few drops of truffle oil (more on that later), grate some cheese on top, and dig in!

Cheers!