Two Cheddars and chives on homemade bread, with sprinkled coarse sea salt and Louisiana hot sauce.
I love chives, and though I have tried to grow them, I find that buying them when really green and fresh works best. Some people may wonder why one would bother with these daintiest of alliums, and my answer is twofold. First, they have a dainty flavour to match — ever so slightly garlicky, without the acid bite of spring onions (aka green onions or scallions). Secondly, they allow you to sneak more greens into your diet: always a good thing, in my opinion. For instance, I wanted cheese on toast for breakfast this morning. The chives went beautifully with the cheese, and made the whole thing merrier.
One of my favourite items is chive poached eggs, where they meld together. I like chives sprinkled over my eggs, but when you’ve got a small area to aim for — not a sprawling scramble but a tidy bull’s-eye — they tend to scatter. However, sprinkling them on the raw egg before it goes in the pot allows the chives to gently cook along with the egg, and to be a part of it. Not only does it do away with chasing chive shards, but it also makes a pretty presentation. The egg with the black pepper was cooked with my usual method (see below), while the one in the top photo was done in the Dash electric cooker.
I like to use a silicone egg poaching cup, seen upper right: a tiny smear of butter round the bottom releases the egg and makes washing up easy.
To poach eggs in my favourite method, choose a very small saucepan (1 quart) with a lid. Cover the bottom with water, at least 2.5 cm or 1 inch, and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, grease poaching cup with a little oil or butter (you don’t need to, but this makes cleaning it easier) and crack the egg into the cup, being careful not to break the yolk (an unbroken yolk will be more centered and cook better). Once the water is boiling, place the cup in the saucepan and immediately turn down the heat to a medium-high temperature, covering with the lid. Immediately set a timer: on my induction hob, I find that 7 minutes at setting number 7 works ideally. The moment the timer goes off, lift the lid and remove the cup from the pot. If you want the egg to be a bit more done, you can let it sit in the cup for a minute or so, or you can return it to the pot. Otherwise, scoop out gently with a tablespoon, and season as desired.