Poached egg

Fill a large wide saucepan with two inches of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Crack a fresh egg into a small bowl or ramekin.

Reduce the heat until the water is just barely simmering, so bubbles do not push the egg out of shape.

Stir in 1 tablespoon of vinegar, optional; swirl the water with a spoon into a vortex.

Carefully drop the egg into the centre of the vortex and cook 3 minutes, until the white is opaque and firmer but yields when pressed with a spoon and the yolk is still runny.

Variation: hold the egg in a ladle dipped into the water about 30 seconds until submerged and starting to firm, then release it; it spreads flyaways and is not worth it.

Variation: crack the egg into a small sieve to drain off the runny thin white, swirl the water, add the egg to the centre and cook as normal; neater, but older eggs leave a very small poached egg.

Lift onto a paper towel lined plate to drain off the vinegar water; serve on an English muffin with asparagus.