We all know how much I love bacon. (If you don’t, please check the Recipe Index on this very blog. My categories are: Appetizers, Breakfast and Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Veggies, Desserts…and Glorious Bacon. And poached eggs are right up there on my list of favorite, favorite, favorite foods. So it was only a matter of time before I figured out a way to put these two faves together in one place…but I didn’t want it to be plain old poached eggs with bacon. (Not that there is anything wrong with plain old poached eggs and bacon. If anyone wants to come over and make me plain old poached eggs and bacon right now, I’m home.)
So while I was pondering this, my mom and dad took a trip out to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, and knowing my love and devotion to bacon, they stopped at S. Clyde Weaver’s store and got me some of the good stuff. Thick, glorious bacon. The kind you can smell right through the waxed paper wrapping and you immediately know you are in for some sheer bacon happiness. They also stopped at a farm market and brought me a bag of sweet, tiny, tender pea shoots, because my mama knows I love that kind of thing. And then, just like that, it all came together in my mind.
I cooked up a pot of polenta, which is basically cornmeal whisked into salted boiling water and simmered until it is thick and smooth. While the polenta was cooking, I cooked a few strips of the bacon in the oven and then chopped them up into pieces, and then I poached a few eggs and cut up some cherry tomatoes. And then away we went…When the polenta was ready, I stirred in some butter and the bacon, and spooned it into individual serving dishes. I made two little dents in each bowl of bacon polenta and laid an egg in each one (Laid an egg! Get it?? Sorry.) Then I spooned on some cherry tomatoes, some of the pea sprouts, and some cracked black pepper and a teeny bit of coarse salt. If you break the poached eggs right away, the yolk will melt into the bacon polenta, and oh, my my my.
Now, unless you are passing by that same farmer’s market, pea shoots might be hard to come by, but any little green will be fine. I’m going to try chopped frisee lettuce next time, but a few baby spinach leaves or even a scattering of parsley will do just fine. The sweetness of the tomatoes will offset the salty bacon polenta, and the creamy poached egg….well, you get my drift, right? I’m considering eating this and only this for the rest of my life. (I wonder if there is enough bacon in the world for that?) Here’s the recipe, including my almost foolproof method for making poached eggs!
Ingredients
Directions
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Yummy! I adore bacon, I adore poached eggs and I adore polenta. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Whole Foods totally has pea shoots! I spotted them just this weekend which is perfect timing otherwise I would have had no idea where to find them for this recipe. And oh yes.,,,I’m making it. Poached eggs reel me in every.time.
Really? Whole Foods, here I come! Thanks Joanne.
You had me when you “laid an egg”!!
A beautiful picture of a great sounding dish! After covering the skillet and turning off the heat, should I move the skillet off the electric burner or not? Will be making this soon. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Mary! Yes, if you have an electric burner it’s best to move the skillet off, as those don’t cool down immediately. Happy eggs and polenta!
I make something very similar to this. The green on mine is asparagus that’s been sauteed in olive oil with some salt and pepper. Oh! And I also add some shredded sharp white cheddar to the polenta. Because as the saying goes at our house…”Everything’s better with butter, bacon and cheese!” Definitely going to have to try the pea shoots though. They’re too cute!
Beautiful! I need to use polenta more often. This has everything that I would love. Perfect and beautiful!
I ADORE polenta, but I have never once thought to use it in a breakfast dish. Looks positively perfect.
I just tell my Southern husband it’s grits, and it all works out fine.
I would definitely have these for breakfast, or for one of those dinner nights when what you really want is breakfast.
This looks excellent! Major comfort food!
I love your recipe for poached eggs with bacon polenta. Eggs are my comfort food and I have recently found a love for polenta and who can say no to bacon!!!
Great blog and delicious recipes!
Elizabeth
Thank you! And I feel exactly the same about eggs…the ultimate comfort food!
This looks simply delicious! I never used to be a bacon eater, but I could not resist this!
It’s a great one for folks who like just a little bacon!
Tomorrow’s lunch
Thanks for the recipe!
I found your page tonight looking for a bacon polenta concoction…as I have some lovely golden grape tomatoes…your site popped up! I am so thrilled! I have some balsamic chicken legs in the oven (chicken ribs to my kiddos) and this little jem will go lovely! Oh- and we have some sunflower sprouts that will rock in lew of the pea shoots!