First Dinner of 2011

During the two-plus weeks I spent at home for my Christmas break, I ate mostly protein and carbs (COOKIES!), so I am feeling a little vegetable-starved. For the first meal of 2011, I decided to create something that had a nice dose of vegetation in it. Modeled on the six-minute egg dish I had at Demi, this dinner was comprised of a relatively lean cauliflower and leek purée topped with a poached egg, frizzled corned beef, and oven-dried grape tomatoes with a dusting of shichimi tōgarashi.

While the purée could have been smoother (too lazy to drag out the food pro, I used a hand blender), it had a lovely vegetal flavor. My first-time attempt at poached eggs was near-perfect, and the crisps of corned beef were an interesting substitute for bacon. (For the first time in a long time, we did not have any bacon on hand. Have you noticed how expensive it's gotten recently?)

For a nice cauliflower purée recipe, try this one, adding a well-cleaned, chopped leek or two, sweated in a bit of butter until soft, before putting it in the processor.