Recipe: Roasted Asparagus with Farro Salad and Balsamic Fried Egg

I love sunny-side up eggs for breakfast.  I'm a savory breakfast person, and toast dipped in a perfectly runny egg yolk followed by a bite of egg white with crisped edges is as perfect as breakfast gets.

Improving on perfection should be impossible.  But this version of a balsamic fried egg, based loosely off the version at Foreign Cinema in San Francisco, may prove me wrong.  Paired with a farro salad and roasted asparagus, it's a perfectly decadent breakfast which still has aspirations towards being 'healthy.'

RECIPE:  Roasted Asparagus with Farro Salad and Balsamic Fried Egg
Serves 2

This is a mildly strenuous weekend breakfast, since there are three components.  None is particularly hard -- it's just a bit tricky to get the timing right so everything is done close to the same time.  You'll find that if you have some leftover farro salad, that this goes much more quickly!

Farro Salad tossed with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Rosemary
1/2 c quick-cooking farro
3/4 c water
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1-2 T olive oil (per your preference)
1/4 t dried rosemary
Salt to taste

Place farro and water in a small pot; bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer.  Simmer for 10 minutes, covered.  Turn off the heat and leave pot covered for another 15 minutes.

In the meantime, whisk together the olive oil, minced garlic, dried rosemary and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Once farro is done, toss with this mixture, and add more salt to taste.  (This part can be done in advance the night before.)

Roasted Asparagus
1/2 lb medium to thick asparagus spears
1-2 T olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Rinse and clean asparagus.  Break off the tough ends and discard.

Lay the asparagus spears out in a single layer on a baking dish or a roasting pan.  Drizzle with olive oil; toss the spears until they are covered in a thin layer of oil.  Season with a little salt and pepper.

Roast in oven for 8-10 minutes, until spears are lightly browned and tender when pierced with a fork.  Squeeze juice of half a lemon (or to taste) over spears prior to serving.  (You could also slice your lemon in half and throw it on the roasting pan with the asparagus to get a roasted lemon flavor.)

Balsamic Fried Eggs
2 eggs
2 t olive oil
3-4 T balsamic vinegar

In a small frying pan, add 2 t olive oil (or enough to prevent eggs from sticking).  Crack each egg into the pan.  Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes for sunny side up, or until whites are opaque but yolks are still bright and jiggly.  Slide the eggs out of the pan when done.

With oil still in the pan, add balsamic vinegar (add more if you want to make more balsamic reduction).  Reduce by about half -- should take no more than 2-3 minutes if pan is still quite hot from the eggs.

To serve:
Mound a small amount of farro salad on the plate.  Lay 4-5 asparagus spears next to the farro salad.  Top with a fried egg which bridges the salad and asparagus.  Drizzle balsamic reduction on top when done.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Crack open yolk and let it run over the farro and asparagus and enjoy!