Avocado Toast with Poached Egg, Harissa, and Yogurt

Raise your hand if you love avocado toast. You are my people. There’s nothing better, am I right? If you love your avocado toast with a kick, you’re going to love this recipe. It was inspired by an epic brunch I had with Estelle in London at Lowry & Baker, a cute little café in North Kensington. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since!

The key to this dish is a perfectly poached egg. I share my poaching method below, so take some notes. Believe it not, for every student that comes up to me after class with a question about their downdog, there’s someone who wants me to teach them how to poach an egg!

The rest of the recipe is just assembly!

Avocado Toast with Poached Egg, Harissa, and Yogurt

Makes one serving.

good bread
olive oil
crunch sea salt + freshly cracked pepper
1 avocado
2 eggs 
white vinegar
harissa
plain yogurt

Toast your bread. Drizzle with a bit of good olive oil. Scoop out avocado and mash it onto the bread with a fork. Sprinkle with sea salt. Add the poached egg on top of each piece of toast. Salt + pepper. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of yogurt and harissa. Et voilà!

Poaching An Egg

This method works for me every single time. I’m no magician, I just follow these steps.

Step 1: Fill a pot with water about two inches high. Bring to a boil.

Step 2: Once the water has come to a full boil, add a tablespoon of white vinegar (I don’t measure, so I’m estimating here).

Step 3: TURN DOWN THE HEAT to LOW!!! I think this one of the mistakes folks make—they drop eggs into a jacuzzi and the force of the boil breaks up the eggs. I wait until the water is totally still (takes a few seconds).

Step 4: Give the water a gentle spin with a slotted spoon (the same one you’ll use to retrieve the eggs). The centripetal force will help to pull the egg towards its center.

Step 5: Crack an egg lightly against your counter. Hold the egg over the pot VERY close to the water and slowly open it. You want it to tip-toe in, not high dive.

Step 6: If I’m doing more than one egg, I wait until the whites have firmed on the one already in the pot before I add another.

Step 7: Slowly turn the heat back up to high.

Step 8: By the time you’ve added the eggs and wash your hands, about a minute will have passed. Set your timer for 3 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and let them rest on a paper towel to drain off the water. (NOTE: When I lift the eggs out of the water, I give them a little shake; if they look too jiggly, it means the whites haven’t fully cooked around the yolk, in which case I’ll carefully set them back into the water for another 30 seconds or so.)

Put this recipe on the docket for this weekend and prepare to be a hero. I’m so excited for you to try it and I can’t wait to hear what you think!