'REDEYE MORNING' ...COFFEE MARBLED EGG.

Coffee marbled egg, shaved homestyle bacon, chilli oil, coffee reduction, pickled spring onions, sourdough, coffee grounds and olive oil leaf herb.

This dish is the perfect example of slow food cookery and demonstrates almost all that I have a passion for. The dish I call 'redeye morning' as we have all had them we can relate to this uncanny
resemblence of a bloodshot eye. The inspiration for this dish came from all my resources. I first saw this concept a number of years ago and kept the recipe, originally a chinese dish using black tea and soy sauce. I recently saw the dish rekindled by a young chef in pennsylvania which gave me the presentation idea of the redeye. Staying with the backyard coffee theme I decided to give this dish a go using home brewed coffee instead of tea and soy sauce. With the coffee set aside this dish took
9 days to make and displays the essence of the slow food movement.
To make this I started with making my own ham by salt curing a small piece of pork belly. First I rinsed the pork under cold water to remove any impurities, pat dried and coated in a combination of brown sugar and rock salt. Placed into a ziplock bag and refrigerated for 5 days turning twice each day, the pork was then rinsed and smoked with hickory pellets for 3 hours. The bacon was then hung dried in the fridge for 4 more days. The egg was cooked in boiling water and vinegar for exactly 5 mins. before placing into an ice bath, giving a perfectly cooked white with a runny yolk. Once the egg was chilled I made cracks in the shell with the back of a spoon. The egg was then steeped overnight in a strong brew of home grown coffee. To make the chilli oil I simply cooked red chillies in olive oil over a low heat and the reduction of coffee was made by simmering strong brewed coffee with a little sugar until it became a thick syrup. Red spring onions were  pickled in water, white vinegar, and sugar and brings a little acidity to the dish.
Before plating the egg was removed from the coffee and carefully peeled and placed in hot water for 2 minutes to warm it up . To plate I shaved the homestyle bacon over the plate using a micro plain then placing the egg on top with a slither of home baked (bread maker) sourdough toast. Spooning the chilli oil onto the plate and dotting the oil with the reduction .A spoonful of pickled spring onion to accompany scattering coffee grounds and garnishing the plate with olive oil leaf herb from the garden patch. This fantastic herb has no companion boundries and has a striking resemblence to the taste of good quality cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.