Spiced Turmeric Poached Egg Spinach

Spiced Turmeric Poached Egg Spinach

Primal • Vegetarian • Gluten-Free • Low-Carb • Whole-Food

Introduction

This Spiced Turmeric Poached Egg Spinach is a simple whole-food breakfast or light meal combining tender poached eggs with wilted spinach, juicy tomatoes, warming turmeric and crunchy pine nuts.

The soft poached eggs provide high-quality protein and a rich, creamy yolk that works almost like a sauce when broken over the vegetables. Turmeric adds its distinctive golden colour and earthy flavour, while tomatoes bring freshness and pine nuts provide a delicate crunch.

Made from just a handful of ingredients, this easy Primal egg and spinach recipe is ideal for breakfast, brunch or a quick savoury lunch.

Spinach is naturally high in oxalate, so anyone specifically following a low-oxalate diet can omit it or replace it with a lower-oxalate leafy vegetable such as kale or bok choy.

Benefits of All the Ingredients

Pine Nuts

Pine nuts provide a delicate buttery flavour and contrasting crunch.

They contain predominantly unsaturated fats and also provide plant-based protein, magnesium, manganese, copper and vitamin E.

Lightly toasting the pine nuts before serving intensifies their flavour and works particularly well with eggs and wilted vegetables.

Fresh Spinach

Spinach provides a nutrient-dense green base for the poached eggs.

It is an excellent source of vitamin K and also provides folate, provitamin A carotenoids, vitamin C, magnesium and dietary fibre.

Spinach also contains the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which are concentrated in green leafy vegetables.

Spinach is naturally one of the higher-oxalate vegetables. This isn't necessarily a concern for everyone, but people who have specifically been advised to follow a low-oxalate diet, such as some people with calcium oxalate kidney stones, may prefer to replace it with a lower-oxalate vegetable.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes add freshness, acidity and natural sweetness to the dish.

They provide vitamin C, potassium, folate and carotenoids, particularly lycopene.

Cooking the tomatoes briefly softens them and releases their juices, creating a simple base that complements both the spinach and runny egg yolks.

White Wine Vinegar

White wine vinegar provides acidity and can also be used to help the egg whites set neatly during poaching.

Because only a tablespoon is required, it adds brightness without overpowering the other ingredients.

Vinegar contains acetic acid, which is responsible for its characteristic sharp flavour.

Ground Turmeric

Turmeric provides the warm golden colour and distinctive earthy flavour of this recipe.

Its best-known naturally occurring compounds are curcuminoids, including curcumin.

Using turmeric as a spice is an easy way to add depth of flavour to simple ingredients such as eggs, spinach and tomatoes without relying on packaged seasoning mixes.

Eggs

Eggs provide the main source of high-quality protein in this dish.

They contain complete protein with all nine essential amino acids and provide several important nutrients, including vitamin B12, selenium, phosphorus and choline.

Egg yolks also contain the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin.

Poaching requires no additional cooking fat and leaves the yolk soft and creamy, making it a delicious natural accompaniment to the vegetables.