As a young child, my family would frequently travel up to NY to visit our extended family. These trips were great for several reasons: I got to see my uncles, aunts, and cousins, I got to experience city and LI life...even upstate life (we had family all over the Empire State) and, what I’ve come to miss, amazing food and pastries. Grocers down in Northern VA in the 80’s did sell bialys from time-to-time, but now you can’t ever find them, let alone real Italian pastries and cookies.
Apparently, Mark Bittman has the same problem and came up with this bialy recipe below. The other day was Eggs Benedict day and I was going to do that classic dish, but remembered Hollandaise gives me the heebie-jeebies. I love aioli. I love runny eggs. But, Hollandaise just ain't right in my eyes. Also, I’ve not ever poached an egg before, so this was going to need some time, not something I can pull off on a weekday morning.
If poaching eggs seems daunting, I found several videos online of how to use the vortex method and I’m here to tell you, it’s super easy. I kind of went along the "Eggs Benny" route and paired it with a bialy (in lieu of an English muffin) and instead of Canadian bacon, fried up some diced pancetta along with asparagus spears. This is a breakfast you don’t want to miss out on.
Eggs Benedict - Mangia Style
If you have a sourdough starter (or can get your hands on some), I’d highly recommend, to give these bialys a little flavor lift.
Bialys - adapted from Mark Bittman
3.5 cups bread (or AP) flour
1 envelope instant yeast
2 tsp sugar
2.5 tsp salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, minced
Everything bagel seasoning (or poppy seeds)
Mix the first 4 ingredients in a kitchen mixer, fitted with the dough hook) for 10 seconds, then quickly pour in 1.25 cups of water and knead for a couple of minutes until the dough forms a ball and is smooth. (Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor and, after adding water, knead by hand for several minutes.
Grease a large bowl with some oil and roll the dough, covering it in oil, in the bowl. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and rest the dough for 12 hours in the fridge.
Afterwards, turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and portion the dough into 10 pieces. Roll into a ball and press each round out to a flat roughly 4-5 inch disc. Cover with a towel and let rest for an hour.
While the dough rests, sauté the minced onions in ¼ cup of olive oil, over medium heat, until fully caramelized, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. You may need to add water to the pan for the last several minutes to keep the onions from burning. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a cast iron skillet on the bottom of the oven and a pizza stone on the rack above. If you don’t have a stone, use a parchment-lined baking sheet.
When the bialy’s are ready press an indentation into the middle working outward. Poke holes in the middle section, using a fork. Spoon on a little bit of the caramelized onions in the middle section. Using your fingers, wet the ring of the bialy and sprinkle on the bagel seasoning.
Using a floured pizza peel, or spatula, pick up the bialys and place them on the stone. Pour 1.5 cups of hot water into the cast iron skillet to steam. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes. Cool on a rack, for a few minutes, and enjoy.
Poached eggs
Eggs
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Bring a small pot of water to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium.
Meanwhile, crack and egg into a bowl.
When ready, stir in the apple cider vinegar and keep stirring the water until a nice vortex funnel forms. Pour the egg into the middle of the swirling water.
Cook for 3 minutes or so and remove with a slotted spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with some sautéed, diced pancetta and asparagus spears with a sprinkle of lemon juice and olive oil.
____________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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