Oeufs en Croustade

My Monday Brunch: Oeufs en Croustade (baked left-over brioche w/ crushed garlic + salted butter, topped with poached egg , Hollandaise sauce, garnished w/ grated cheese, chopped spring onions & coriander leaves), served w/ pan fried tomatoes + a glass of pineapple juice + a Sunkist + 1 dark chocolate ball:-)) 

I'm not fond of egg yolk at all (poached or, fried or scrambled, etc...), so I only eat the egg whites, and left the egg yolks aside...;-P Not quite picky, ehhh!  

Note: 
"Oeuf" in french = egg
"Croustade" in french = a crisp piece of bread or pastry hollowed to receive a savoury filling. :-))

Croustades (for 1 person):

1/2 stale unsliced loaf white bread or french brioche

25 g butter, melted

1 garlic clove, crushed

To make the croustades:
Preheat the oven to 180°C . Cut four 3 cm thick slices from the brioche bread and remove the crusts. Cut each piece of bread into a 9 cm square, then use a round cutter to cut a circle, or a square if you prefer, in the centre of the bread, without cutting all the way through. Use a knife to scoop out the bread from the centre to form a hollow.

Mix together the melted butter and garlic and brush all over the bread. Place on a baking tray and bake for 8 minutes, or until crisp and lightly golden. Keep warm.

Hollandaise Sauce:1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
45 g unsalted butter, cut into cubes

To make the hollandaise sauce:
Put the egg yolk, a bit of salt and black pepper in a blender and mix together. Heat the lemon juice and butter until boiling and then, with the motor running, poor onto the yolk in a steady stream.

2 eggs

1 teaspoon finely chopped coriander and spring onion or parley 

To poach the eggs:
Bring a pan of water to the boil. Crack an egg into a small bowl, reduce the heat and slide the egg into the simmering water. Poach for 3 minutes, then remove carefully with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Poach another egg. Trim the eggs of any straggly bits of white.
Gently place an egg into each croustade. Pour over a little hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with chopped spring onion and coriander (or parsley). Serve at once with extra hollandaise sauce. 

Note from a chef:
Use the freshest eggs you can find for poaching, so that the whites don't spread too much in the water. If you can't guarantee their freshness, add a little vinegar to the water to keep the whites together. 

{this photo taken in HDR Mode}  Bon Appétit!