Early to Rise

My new digs in Chicago are fabulous!  Open, airy, and great light.

Especially at 6:30 in the morning.

So until I get new curtains, I have plenty of time in the a.m. to make a delicious breakfast!

What I have in the house:  eggs, bread left over from last night's impromptu dinner party, broccoli pesto, chili oil, parsley.

Sliced up that baguette, gave it a little drizzle of the chili oil. and toasted it in the oven at 400 for about 5 minutes.  Rub it with sliced garlic and give it a sprinkling of salt and parsley.  Top with Broccoli "Pesto" and a poached egg and you have breakfast, my friend!

Broccoli "Pesto"

I've been playing around with this recipe for a while.  Poaching the garlic and almonds with the broccoli takes away some of the bite and allows for easy mashing up.

1 head broccoli, florets and stem chopped
3 cloves garlic
3/4 cup almonds
1 cup basil leaves
3/4 cup olive oil
parmigiano to taste (although I often leave it out...astounding for this Midwesterner)
1 lemon, zest and juice.
salt 'n pepper

Bring a medium stock pot of heavily salted water to a boil.  Throw in broccoli, garlic, and almonds and blanch for about 2-3 minutes until the broccoli has turned bright green.  Drain without rinsing.  Transfer to a food processor.  Add basil, lemon zest and juice, and 1/4 cup olive oil (just to give things a little encouragement).  With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the remaining 1/2 cup oil until the mixture is smooth.

Stir in cheese by hand and adjust seasonings.


This is great on bread, stirred into quinoa, or used as a sauce with pasta (thin it out with reserved cooking liquid of the pasta).