Roasted Green Onion Pesto With Poached Eggs And Ricotta

This is a fantastically simple idea that is so tasty and quick to put together. The flavours of roasted green onion and sun-dried tomato pack a big punch in this dish, bringing in a bit of summer yumminess on these cold winter days. This can be put together as a "Wow!" dish for breakfast or brunch, or you can serve it as a casual dinner with a side salad. The trick is in the roasting of the onions—slow enough to get them to a sticky roasted sweetness that is over-the-top delicious.

(Serves 4)

For Pesto:

3 bunches of green onions

2 tbsps roasted walnut oil

salt and pepper to taste

6 large sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water

3 cloves garlic, skin on

olive oil

For Sandwiches:

1 large focaccia-style bread, cut into 4

1 container excellent quality ricotta cheese

4 organic eggs

Wash and prep green onions. Dress with roasted walnut oil, salt, and pepper. Place on a baking sheet with unpeeled garlic.

Roasted nut oils—such as walnut, hazelnut, or almond—are fantastic over BBQ’ed or roasted vegetables. The nut oils really enhance the natural flavours and sweetness of everyday vegetables. I always keep some on hand for this reason. They can be quite expensive, but a little goes a long way, and are well worth the investment when you see how they can transform even the most basic of vegetables. I use this oil over asparagus, carrots, beets, brussel sprouts, turnips, cauliflower, almost anything.

Roast in the oven on broil, 20-25 minutes.

The trick with getting the right level of roast on the onions is to cook them on the broil setting, but move your oven rack down a notch or two so that the onions will cook but not burn.

Once onions are cooked and cooled, roughly chop onions, peeled garlic, and roasted red peppers. Add a little more salt and pepper to taste, and top with some olive oil. Your pesto is ready!

Any leftover pesto will keep for about a week. Cover with a little more olive oil, seal, and refrigerate. Feel free to use this in sandwiches, over chicken or pork, or use it as a base to make a tasty salad dressing.

Poach your eggs to your desired liking.

For a basic poaching primer, check out YouTube for tons of videos from the experts. This dish also works well with a fried egg or scrambled eggs, too—whatever your preference.

Assemble your sandwich! Lightly toast the focaccia, spread some of the pesto onto the bottom layer of the bread, add a couple of healthy spoonfuls of ricotta, layer on your eggs, and then top with a couple of dollops of your sticky yummy pesto. Finish with a couple of splashes of fresh olive oil.

Done!