Mixed Microgreens Salad with Soft Cheese, Toasted Almonds, and Poached Duck Egg

Poaching eggs is a lot more difficult than it seems. There are numerous different methods: with or without salt, with or without vinegar, in plastic wrap (as shown here ) or dropped into water that has been stirred creating a "tornado". It will take some practice before I get good at poaching eggs because you have to get the timing exactly right and make sure that the egg keeps together when it cooks. However, I'm very pleased with the flavor of duck eggs - it's stronger than that of chicken eggs, just as duck meat is stronger in flavor than chicken meat (at least the white meat). The other difference is that duck eggs are larger in size. So far, I have been poaching the duck eggs, but in the future, I plan to experiment with baking with them in cookies or cakes, or using them in other recipes that require eggs. But first, I want to get poaching them down - I feel like it's one of those basic skills that a chef or a good home cook has to master.

Mixed Microgreens Salad with Soft Cheese, Toasted Almonds, and Poached Duck Egg Ingredients: • 1 pound mixed microgreens (pea shoots, micro mesclun, etc) • ½ cup soft white cheese, crumbled • ½ cup toasted almonds • 1 tablespoon black pepper • 1 tablespoon salt • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar • 4 free-range duck eggs • a pinch of paprika Directions: 1. Wash and spin the microgreens to get rid of excess water. 2. Bring a pan of cold water to a boil and stir the water, creating a "tornado". Drop an egg into the center of the tornado and cook for 4-6 minutes, depending on how running you want the yolk to be. Remove the egg from the heat and drop it into a bowl of ice water, to stop the cooking. 3. Dress the microgreens with a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then sprinkle with almonds. Place a poached duck egg on each salad, and add a pinch of paprika. Season the entire salad with salt and pepper, according to taste.