The last thing I want to do on a weekend morning is spend hours fussing in the kitchen, so I came up with this gorgeous, nutritious, and awesomely crowd-pleasing meal. Poached eggs provide the protein; once you get the hang of making them, they lose the intimidation factor while still being impressive. (You can use hard-boiled eggs if you don’t like runny yolks.) The red pepper sauce practically makes itself, and the bed of greens gets the nutritional job done. Dressing the salad a few minutes before serving wilts the greens slightly. Once you break into those poached yolks and trail them in the piquant sauce, you’ll realize you’ve achieved brunch nirvana.
Serves 4 to 6
Make the pepper sauce: In a blender, puree all of the ingredients until smooth.
Toss the greens: In a large bowl, toss all of the ingredients.
Poach the eggs: Crack the eggs into individual small glass bowls or ramekins. Fill a medium (3- or 4-quart) saucepan one-third full with water and bring to a boil. Add the lemon juice or vinegar. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Using a spoon, swirl the water vigorously in a circular motion to create a vortex. Still swirling, pick up one egg in a bowl, bring the bowl as close to the surface of the water as you can, and slip the egg into the water. Poach the egg until the white is unified and the egg looks like an opaque white blob, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the egg to a plate, tipping to drain away any excess water. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
To serve, arrange the greens on individual plates, spoon a poached egg on top or alongside, drizzle with the pepper sauce, and serve.
Tip Why watercress? Aside from its peppery bite, it’s an antioxidant-rich food that contains vitamin C and as much calcium as milk. It’s also got powerful body-detox properties in the form of so-called phytochemicals, which help cleanse the liver and ensure proper organ function.