Black Bean Burger and Homemade Hamburger Bun

This is super easy to put together once you have the ingredients ready. I was half way into making the patties when George popped up at our door. The good thing about cooking vegetarians is you can increase the serving size, easily, just by throwing in more vegetables.

Hamburger Bun:

We bought a packet of organic black beans the other day but didn't cook it because Adrian said it would take 5 hours to cook, which I will tell you in moment is not true. Anyway I found a black bean burger recipe that sounds good, and decided that's what I would do with the black beans. Then we were watching How to Cook Your Life. In the movie, Zen priest and chef Edward Espe Brown teaches people to be attentive in everyday dealings with the most mundane things and also open our eyes to one of the most beautiful occupations: cooking. Especially baking. The way Edward kneads and rolls the dough seems effortless, and inspiring. I asked Adrian "you think it's hard to make hamburger bun?" I quickly dropped the movie and went to consult Google. Didn't seem too difficult. It was then that I decided to make hamburger buns for the black bean burger, instead of the day-old french bread in the refrigerator. So pardon me I didn't watch the whole movie but I had work to do.

I went through a roller coaster of emotion with this. First I thought it went really well as I was kneading the dough - it felt very right. Then I was dismayed by the size - too small to make a decent hamburger. I also thought the bread was a bit to the hard side, but Adrian thought it was good. I was still skeptical and unsatisfied.

As it turned out, although the buns were too small to fit the black bean burger patty, both Adrian and George approved. George called them the Kaiwaii Mickey Mouse Ears Hamburger Bun (too long to make a copyright of it). He actually singled them out to be "especially the buns. I really like them). Guess who's taking home the extra bun.

(make 4 small buns)

• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1/3 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 tablespoon dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm whole milk
• 1 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 Tablespoon butter, melted
• pinch teaspoons salt
• 1 cups all-purpose flour + a tablespoon or two of organic rye flour
  
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon water
• white sesame seeds
  

1. Dissolve sugar in water. Stir in yeast to proof. Let it sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
   
2. Whisk together flour, salt, sugar, milk and melter butter. Add proofed yeast. Process with a electric mixer attached with kneader hooks. Blend until the dough is semi-sticky and holds around the hook. Add flour, a little bit at a time, if necessary.
3. Roll it out onto a floured surface. Knead for 7 - 8 minutes. Cover with damped towel for 10 minutes.
4. Grease a large boil with butter. Gently knead the dough for 30 seconds with hands. Place in the greased bowl and cover with damped towel for 60 - 80 minutes. Let rise in a warm place. The dough will double in size.
5. Punch down the dough. Divide it into 4 balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Cover with towel and let sit in a warm place for 30 - 40 minutes.
6. Preheat oven at 150C. Whisk together water and egg white. Carefully brush the top and sides of dough with egg mixture. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden brown.
   

Black Bean Burger:

I had made some pretty good burger before but this one is more intricate because of the mixing with different vegetables; it looked vibrant and pretty on the plate. However the patty didn't hold up very well. Not enough bread crumbs?

I soaked the beans for a day before I cooked them. It took less than 2 hours to have them all cooked. With the fresh corns, I just boil them in hot water until they turned into bright yellow.

(make 3 patties)

• 11/2 cup cooked black beans
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 gloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 big red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup cooked corn kernels
• 1 orange chili pepper,chopped
  
• 1 - 2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 - 2 teaspoon American-style chili powder
• 3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• Organic Rye flour
• Pure Coconut oil to fry
  

1. In a large bowl, mash the black beans. Throw in cooked corn kernels. Set aside.
2. Saute onions and garlic with a generous pinch of salt. Add red bell pepper and orange chili pepper. Stir in spices except parsley.
3. Stir the vegetable mixture into the black beans and corn mix. Add parsley and bread crumbs. Divide and shape the mixture into 3 patties. Store in the freezer for 10 minutes.
4. Remove patties from freezer. Coat them with flour.
5. Heat up a pan of coconut oil to boiling but not smokey. Turn the heat to medium. Fry the patties, about 3 minutes on each side.
   

To serve:

• Mango and Avocado Salsa
• Spinach leaves, chiffonade

Place spinach leaves on individual serving plates. Top with mango and avocado salsa and black bean burger. Serve buns on the side with a slate of butter.

Orange, Dates and Spinach Salad with Lemon-Cardamon Dressing

I wasn't sure about this recipe at first. Two reasons: orange and cardamon dressing. Neither Adrian nor I like orange much - it's not one of those fruits that we normally go for. Why did I choose this recipe? It's because there was one extra orange from the Orange-Pan Glazed Tempeh recipe I did the other night.

Cardamon dressing? Haven't even heard of it. I don't even cook with cardamon that much except for the occasional ethnic foods such as this. Therefore my association with cardamon is either Indian or curry. Very shallow. But what do you know? It's always good to jump into unknown territory just to be taken by surprise. Good surprise.

I could tell Adrian was not fond of the orange from the way he picked them out. But overall he liked the salad. It's especially good with the dates. It's a recipe worth making and remaking.

Ingredients:
(serve 2 as a side)
For the dressing:

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (Lemon juice + whole milk)
  
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Salad:

• 1 bunch spinach, rinsed, dried and chiffonade
  
• 1 large orange, sliced into halves and pull apart into sections, retain the shells
  
• 4 cherry tomatoes, halved
  
• 1/2 medium-sized red onion, thinly sliced
• 6 pitted dates, chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1. In a small bowl, place the sliced onion and pour the reserved lemon juice over it. Set aside.
2. For the dressing, whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.
3. For the salad, toss all of those ingredients together, including the lemon juice-soaked red onion.
   
4. Toss and coat the salad with the dressing. Scoop over reserved shells to serve.
   

Dinner and Breakfast Tempeh

I was very surprised not many people know about tempeh. I first heard of it when I was in college. A couple of Indian friends were eagerly anticipating this thing that Hanisha was going to bring back from Indonesia. "What is it?" I asked. My college mates were astonished. "You don't know tempeh?" As if I had committed the greatest sin. Then they went on to describe at length what a delicious delicacy tempeh was. I learned that day tempeh was an Indonesian thing. Period.

Two and a half years ago, when I got married to Adrian and subsequently moved to Bangkok, I started cooking. Back then with little to zilch experience in the kitchen, I visited 101 Cookbooks religiously. Everything I cooked was from Heidi Swanson. I'm proud to say I have outgrown that phase. Nevertheless 101 Cookbooks still serves as my inspiration from time to time.

One of the recipe I took from 101 that I liked very much was this TLT Sandwich recipe. I have always wanted to make it again since then. Unfortunately for reason unknown to me, tempeh was only available during the Thai vegetarian month. I waited. A year later, no sign nor sight of tempeh anywhere. Have they stopped selling? I was very disappointed and frustrated. Local people whom I asked have no clue what I was talking about. Some good-hearted ones directed me to the Vegetarian Society in JJ Market but to no avail. Sigh.

From left: Adrian tucking in to his famous Malaysian foods, mamak-styled. Me savoring local nyonya foods at an antique house in Jonker Street.

(L) Old man preparing teh tarik ("pulled tea"). (R) Haven't seen this boiler for ages!

When Adrian and I went back to KL to visit my family, we took a detour to Melaka - the historical state of Malaysia that was adorned World Heritage site status by the UNESCO in 2007. The trip started in order to satisfy Adrian's curiosity about this place - many people have mentioned it to him. It somehow ended as a history refreshment course for me. There were a few things that upset me, such as the building of shopping malls on the once recreational field near Porta De Santiago (which was wrongly called A'Farmosa by Lonely Planet, said our tour guide at the Red House museum). Its short fall was compensated by the boutique hotel - Courtyard@Heerem - that we stayed a night at, and the guided tour at the museum.

The Geographer Cafe and the curried tempeh.

There was also the sampling of nyonya foods and not to forget a tempeh dish from Geographer Cafe. It was a kind of finger foods, fried with curry powder. It was so good it reignited my desire for tempeh, and I vouched to buy some to bring back to Bangkok.

Unlike traditional tempeh, which is made from fermentation of cooked soya beans, this is of black beans.

Upon our return to KL, our first stop was to Just Life organic store. There, right in front of me, was 5 packets of freshly made, newly arrived organic black bean tempeh! I was ecstatic. I took all of them. Naturally I had been excited to cook with tempeh since then.

I took a quick search in 101 and found a couple other tempeh recipes that I wanted to try. I decided to make the Orange-pan Glazed Tempeh. This recipe features a simple ginger and garlic-spiked orange glaze that smells like a gingered duck dish that my grandmother used to make. Adrian thinks it's just like teriyakki chicken. The beans also make the tempeh looks awfully a lot like meat.

I was so excited about the TLT Sandwich that I couldn't stop smiling the whole night. I even asked Adrian if he could guess what's for tomorrow's breakfast, just to tell him "I'm not gonna tell you. It's gonna be real good."

As Adrian watched me assembling the sandwich, he said "I don't think it's going to make a sandwich." I crudely replied "It's an open-faced sandwich!" No one is dampening my enthusiasm for the breakfast that I'd been waiting for two years!

As it happened, we both loved this two tempeh dishes a lot. Off I go and scavenge for more special tempeh recipes. 3 more tempehs awaiting in the fridge!

Spinach and Goat Cheese Pizza with Garlic Oil

When I was in Chiang Mai, Adrian sent me a SMS from London that says "just had the BEST pizza! "Padana Pizza": spinach, goat cheese, red onion, caramelized onion and garlic oil!" It was from Pizza Express. I managed to find a few online pizza recipes that use spinach and goat cheese as ingredients. I then googled for homemade garlic oil and Voila!

You may want to start from here for your own homemade dough. I was short of all-purpose flour and hence substituted half the flour with organic rye flour.

I started with making caramelized onions, using the recipe from a previous post. The onions reduce in size considerably when cooked. Adjust amount needed to approximately one onion per person. Use white or yellow onions instead of red. I substituted lemon juice with apple cider vinegar; it worked fine. I was skeptical of it at first thinking it looked too dark and soft, but Adrian said it taste just like the restaurant's. :)

As the onions were being cooked, I set out to making garlic oil. I took one head of peeled garlic and 1/2 cup of olive oil to simmer over medium low heat. The garlic turned brown as it cooked in the hot oil. This took about 15 - 20 minutes.

Now here's to assemble the pizza:

• Spinach leaves, tossed and coated with olive oil
• 4 ounces goat cheese, grated
  
• 1 red onion, sliced
• Caramelized onion
• Garlic oil
  

1. Preheat oven to 250C.
   
2. Go here for pizza crust.
3. Brush the base with enough olive oil and sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake the crust for 10 - 15 minutes.
4. Remove baked crust and turn the oven down to 180C. Layer the crust with olive oil-coated spinach leaves, follow with goat cheese and red onions. Drizzle with garlic oil. Let bake until cheese melt.
5. Drizzle with more garlic oil and serve with more fried garlic.
   

Blossom Your Taste Buds to Vegetarian Wonders

Mia and I had this joke about the overt Anusara expression. So when I half-jokingly requested for a theme for the home-cook dinner at her house, she replied with "Blossom Your Taste Buds to Vegetarian Wonders/ - Anusara Mia". John Friend would have been proud.

Mia and Fredrik make the prefect Swedish couple I know. Everything about them just seem so perfect: the tidy white apartment (less so now that Ludvig is in their life), perfect manner, charming charisma, well dressed.... everything about them is just so..... CLEAN. They are like the couple in 70's Sci-fi movies. Like this (except they have blonde hair):

It was a fun night with great companions (and charming baby) where I gladly played Chef de Cuisine and Mia the Sous Chef, Fredrik the Chef de Plunge, and Adrian the Food de-Vourer. I simply can't bear the sight of the mess I made. God bless the dishwasher.

I didn't take the pictures of the dishes - didn't want to creep them out - hence the use of my old photos. Here's a rundown of our dinner menu:

Couscous and Spinach Pilaf with Labneh and Chili-roasted Tomatoes

Exactly the same recipe as Barley Pilaf with Roasted Vegetable and Deep Fried Goat Cheese. We made these changes:

• Labneh instead of deep fried goat cheese. Mia and Fredrik prepared homemade labneh the night before. It's flavored with minced garlic.
• Zucchini instead of pumpkin.
• Organic wholewheat couscous instead of cooked barley.

Again, this dish takes a while to prepare but works well with planning and it never fails to impress even the carnivores. Despite the rainbow combination of colorful vegetables and herbs, the unassuming, darkly colored, cinnamon-spiced lemony caramelized crispy onions always win. My Swedish friends were talking about making this for their non-vegetarian parents back in Sweden during Christmas.

Veggie Inside-out Lentil Burger

An adaptation of the Veggie Chickpea Burger. The patties are made up of lentils, eggs, onions and homemade breadcrumbs. Use black lentils if you may - they hold up the shape better than red lentils. We (or rather Fredrik) sliced the patties into two halves and used Couscous Pilaf as the filling. If you have extra labneh, spread them generously over the cut side of the patties. Mia liked the idea of turning patty into burger bun and called it the inside out burger.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

The combination of roasted tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese sends everyone into ecstasy. The oven-toasted tortilla shell (or taco shell) gave it an interesting crunch.

Vegan Coconut Chocolate Pudding

I was talking to Dan (our chef friend) the morning before and he mentioned "no matter what you cook, how good the main course is, dessert ALWAYS wins". Coming from a pro chef with years of experience, he must be right. This is a relatively easy dessert that you can make in advance. The secret is coconut milk. YUM~ I seriously need to work on my measuring skill: there were 3 large servings left at the end of the night. I took home one. It never hurts to have more chocolate.

Florentine eggs on Sourdough Muffins

In the cooking terminology, Florentine refers to foods cooked in the style of Florence, Italy - typically eggs, meat and fishes that contain spinach and creamy Mornay-style sauce. As the story goes, Catherine de Medici, an Italian wife of France's Henry II, introduced spinach to the Court of France n 1550. In honor to her Italian heritage, she decided to name any dishes containing spinach "Florentine". I was short of spinach leaves and so used tomato slices for half of the sliced muffins. I hope Catherine would approve.

You may consider this a cheating recipe that strays from the "traditional" way of making Hollandaise sauce. It sure safes time when you are either in a hurry or not in the mood for messing the sauce up. And hey! With a winning combo of sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard, you know this cheater rocks!

I did a revisit to a couple of my previous posting: Cinnful Apple Fruit Salad and Mulled Hot Chocolate.

This hot chocolate is so hard to disappoint; it's a no fail recipe. Adrian had it with a shot of espresso, which was not to my liking but approved by the coffee connoisseur himself. As for the salad, I thought it was strange that it wasn't as flavorful as the last time: apparently I left out the vanilla extract.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp Dijon mustard

4 Eggs, poached

2 sourdough muffins, split, toasted

1 cup Fresh baby spinach leaves, cooked

Dash of pepper

1. In a double boiler, mix sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard. Stir till warm. Set aside. You can also use microwave.

2. Meanwhile, spread about 2 tbsp sauce on each English muffin half. Top each with half of the cooked spinach leaves.

4. Place poached egg over spinach. Top each with half of the remaining sauce, sprinkle with pepper.

Warm Spinach Goat Cheese Salad

A tasteful that's easily adaptable based on what's on hand and what's in season and what you like. The essentials are simply the lentils (preferably 'meaty' lentils such as French green lentils, or black lentils.) and the vinegar-brightened vegetables. And how I love savoring the melty goat cheese with the crisp vegetables! The Roasted Beet with Orange and Walnut Dip also worked wonderfully as dressing for this salad. They make a pretty pair =)

Ingredients:
(serves 2)
3 cups salted water
1/4 cup green lentils

1 small onion, minced
1/2 carrot, cubed
vegetables (capsicum, celery, etc) cubed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 ounces spinach, tough stems removed, cut into narrow strips
2 ounces goat cheese, broken into pieces
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Bring water to a boil. Add the lentils and cook til done, about 30 minutes.
2. Sautee onion with a pinch of salt over medium heat. Add vegetables. Stir to coat til crisp-tender. Stir in the vinegar.
3. Combine hot lentils, vegetables, spinach and goat cheese until spinach 'cooks' from heat of lentils. Season to taste. Serve at once.

Lemon Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:
(serves 2)

• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 cloves garlic, crushed
• 200g broccolini, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 50g spinach leaves
• 120mL heavy cream
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt and ground black pepper
• sour cream to serve (1 tablespoon lemon juice + 1 Cup cream)

1. Sautee onion and garlic with a pinch of salt. Stirring, until the onion is tender. Add broccoli and stir to coat. Add the stock, bring to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the broccolin is tender. Add spinach and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
   
2. Pour mixture into a blender to blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
3. Ladle into bowl, top with about 1 tablespoon sour cream, sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper over and serve.

Spinach Salad with Stone Fruits and Maple-spiced Walnuts

What is stone fruit? Its family includes cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines and prunes. They are also called drupes or summer fruits for they all arrive in the summer. Although being in SEA it only means paying high price for imports regardless of the seasons.

I wasn't sure if spinach was ok to be eaten raw and so I did a quick research on it: cooked or raw, they each have their advantages. While cooking reduces Vitamin C and folate level, at the same time it boosts beta-carotein and lutein bioavailability. I guess it's best to have it both way: raw in the lunch salad and cooked for evening dinner, for example.

There's also a very interesting fact about spinach: it has an undeserved reputation for being high in iron. Apparently in 1870, Dr E. Von Wolf mistakenly placed the decimal point for iron content in spinach. Hence the iron content was overstated for 10 fold. The mistake was uncovered 67 years later by a German chemist. However, to date, the myth of spinach being high in iron is still being wrongfully, and yet widely, circulated. Makes me wonder if Popeye was really eating spinach.

Anyway, if you don't have stone fruits on hand, I suspect papaya and mangoes would go well in the salad too. The maple syrup-roasted walnuts are great complement with the tartness of dressing and fruits. Feel free to substitute with chopped pecans.

Ingredients:

(yields 2 servings)

• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
  
• 1/3 cup plus 1/3 tablespoon maple syrup
• Pinches of salt and ground red pepper to taste
  
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/6 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1 ripe peeled, sliced peaches
• 1 ripe peeled, sliced plums
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Combine walnuts, 1/3 tablespoon maple syrup, pinch of salt and pepper in a medium bowl, tossing well to coat. Spread pecan mixture evenly onto a baking sheet coated with oil. Bake at 180° for 15 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. Cool completely and break nuts into small pieces.

3. Combine remaining 1/3 cup maple syrup, pinches of salt and pepper, vinegar, mustard, and ginger in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk.

4. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add vinegar mixture to pan; cook until hot. Add onion, peaches, and plums to pan; cook until warm.

5. Arrange 1 cup spinach on each plate; top each serving with fruit mixture and 1 tablespoon nut mixture. Serve immediately.

The easiest food blog

Pee Wee recently turned me on to this amazing website called Taste Spotting. I fell in love with it the instant I saw the many tantalizing food pictures! What a great website; it's a collection of recipes from food blogs all over the world. How convenient!

One of the pictures that caught my eyes was this savory baked zucchini cupcake. It has a rather intriguing name - That Zucchini. It uses thick zucchini coins as cupcake base, mounded with spinach-raisin-almond mix. It took a while to take a liking of its complexity. It's an interesting dish that would do wonder for entertainment. The only thing I would change is to chop up the raisins. You got to really make sure there is raisin in every bite; it could be rather bland without the raisins. If you have time, read also the story the writer wrote on the history of the recipe and how the name That Zucchini came about.

If you knew me, you would have known that I am not a rice person. My lab partner in university used to comment that I was the most non-asian Asian person he knew. The first question (almost) everyone would ask is "what about bread/ noodle/ pasta?" Well, I love bread. Not a big fan of noodle nor pasta. Too starchy for my liking. "So it's the starch?" No. Because I love potatoes.

When Adrian came back from Prague, the very first thing I wanted to do was to cook. I knew he must have missed my cooking. And so I immediately put that into action the next morning with a Roasted Garlic Potatoes in Thyme and Butter. You will never go wrong with garlic. And with a hint of lemon juice, this herb roasted potatoes were a hit when paired with Smoked Salmon Frittata.

My father used to make this baked potato boat that I really liked. The picture of the Pesto Baked Potatoes reminded me of those days when my father would take out the convection oven and make a whole bunch of baked potato stuffed with luncheon meats (yeap, those were the carnivorous days). The potatoes didn't look anything like those in the recipe. But heck! They taste real good. I added some uncalled-for blue cheese to the stuffing as I remembered a double-cheese potato that I once made. My version of the Baked Pesto Double Cheese Potato got an instant YES from Adrian. He even remarked how I changed his taste for potatoes. Now, that's a real testimonial.

I also tried two of the sweet dishes: a French Toast and a Brownies. Although the French Toast was actually savory.
It's called the Savory Parmesan French Toast. Adrian had a hard time figuring the French Toast out - he kept waiting to taste "French Toast". If you know what I mean. He even added maple syrup to it. To be fair, it was good. I guess it would help not to get caught up with the name. What about changing it to something like.....Savory Parmesan Toast......not very creative, am I?


There also the brownies made of two of the best things in the world: Nutella and peanut butter. I gave some to my Korean friend, Sandra, who accompanied me to watch a German opera at the Thailand Cultural Center. She reported the next morning that the brownies were a success with her kids. Good! There was a pigeon stranded at our porch after a storm. Adrian fed it with some brownies and it wouldn't stop eating. Even birds can't resist the goodness of Nutella and Peanut Butter. The brownies were moist and soft. My only complaint is it didn't do justice to the hazelnut-ty taste of Nutella.

Smoked Salmon Egg Florentine to start the day

Have I raved enough about my crave for breakfast yet? I get particularly excited on days when I don't have to leave home early. Well, late enough to have breakfast at home anyway. And this is one of those beautiful days.
I have made this egg Florentine many times before. It even got me a "I'm impressed" from my elder sister whose affection for me is so deep you can never tell from her face. It's also one of Adrian's favorite morning egg dishes. Although I doubt he recognized this one. It's simply because I finally used proper measurement for the white sauce instead of playing with the amount as I did. And, I added Smoked Salmon.
I don't eat much fish. Restaurant fish always come with funny taste. I'm very doubtful of their freshness. Having said that, I do enjoy sashimi. And I have to thank Adrian for introducing me to the store bought smoked salmon. They smell marvelous! I also did another dish with smoked salmon before.

Smoked Salmon Egg Florentine
I used apple cider vinegar for poaching the eggs. I did it with balsamic vinegar before. Although it worked but it browned the eggs. White vinegar would do if you don't use apple cider vinegar.

Ingredients:
Serve 2
4 eggs
A bag of spinach leaves, about 150gram
1 tomato, sliced
4 smoked salmon fillets (or more)
Milk, 150mL
1 Tablespoon flour
25 gram Cheddar cheese, grated
Shave Romano Cheese (Optional)

1. Add a splash of vinegar to a pan of water. Break one egg to a small bowl. When the water simmers, gently tip the egg in the pan. Scoop the egg out with a slotted spoon when ready. Rest on paper towel to drain off excess water. Repeat with the other eggs.
2. Preheat oven to 180C.
   
3. Cook spinach leaves with just the water clinging to it until just wilted. Remove from heat to a colander. Drain off excess water. Add a tablespoon of butter and pinch of salt and pepper.
   
4. Arrange spinach into to baking dish. Top each plate with 2 tomato slices and then 2 smoked salmon fillets. Cover the dishes with foil and let it bake for 20 minutes until the fish become flaky.
5. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, boil together milk, flour and butter. Stirring constantly until the mixture thicken. Add 1/2 the cheese and let melt. Remove from heat.
6. Distribute milk mixture evenly over the two dishes. Add the remaining Cheddar cheese to top. I added some shaved Romano too.
7. Shove the dish to the top layer of oven and let broil til golden brown.