Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese and Poached Egg on Bagel
This is one of my favourite brunches, truly decadent but sooo perfect for the morning after. (I will use a low fat cream cheese to keep it on the healthier side!)

For variety you can always change the salad from rocket leaves to watercress and the chives to spring onions

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 x bagels
255g / 9oz smoked salmon
170g / 6oz cream cheese
2 bunches rocket
4 eggs
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
To garnish: lemon wedges and chives

Mise-en-Place:
Preheat a grill to high heat
Prepare a wide saucepan with simmering water. (Add 2 Tblsp of vinegar for every litre of water)
Wash the rocket
Cut the lemon into wedges
Reserve 8 long chive stems for garnish
Chop some chives for seasoning

Method:
Poach the eggs:
Gently swirl the hot water in a circular motion
While the water is still moving (but not too rapidly) gently lower the eggs into the water
(I would recommend that beginners poach no more than 2 eggs at once)
The eggs will take 3-5 minutes to cook
When done, remove the eggs from the water and keep warm

Bring the dish together:
Cut the bagels in half
Lightly grill or toast the bagels beneath the hot grill
Spread the bagels with the cream cheese
Layer the salmon over the cheese
Season with the salt, pepper and chopped chives
Serve with the rocket and lemon wedges

Presentation:
Take a loose handful of the rocket, squeeze the leaves gently to encourage them to clump together.
Place the leaves on the centre of the plate
Layer the bagels, staggered one on top of the other over the rocket
Dust the salmon with a little of the chopped chives
Place the poached egg on top
Garnish with the lemon wedge and cross two long stems of chives across the bagels
Serve

Chef Tip: Use scissors to trim the poached egg into shape. Remove any loose tendrils and broken whites to form the perfect shape
To keep a poached egg warm immerse it in a bowl of hot (but not boiling) water

Chef Insight: The best smoked salmon is harvested while it is no older than 3 years. Different traditional flavours and ingredients range from region to region however an example of smoking ingredients would be oak chips and juniper berries. Scottish smoked salmon is prized above all others due to its golden-orange colours and distinct flavours. (However please be aware that in recent decades many farmed salmon have been given feed that contains a colouring agent!)