This Saturday (14th July) is Bastille Day in France. To celebrate famous French chef Jean-Christope Novelli has created two fabulous recipes in conjunction with Port Salut. Today I’m very pleased to be able to share one of these with you all ‘Crispy granary bruschetta, with poached egg, spinach and a Port Salut glaze’.

Ingredients

4 large eggs

2-3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar

4 thick slices of ciabatta bread

25ml olive oil

1/2 tsp dried herbs

400g washed baby spinach leaves

For the glaze

100ml double cream

4 egg yolks

100g Port Salut (thinly sliced)

50g butter

Sprinkle of ground nutmeg

Place the slices of ciabatta on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil and season with dried herbs, salt and pepper.

Place in a hot oven (180⁰C) and bake until crisp and golden brown (approx. 5 mins) then set aside on serving dishes.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar.

Stir with a whisk to start a circular motion in the water and crack in the eggs one at a time, immediately turn down to a simmer – 3-4 minutes for a soft egg, 5-7 minutes for a hard poached egg.

In a saucepan, bring the cream to the boil and reduce for a few minutes to thicken and then remove from the heat.

Stir in the Port Salut and the eggs, allowing the cheese to melt.

In a frying pan, add the butter and the spinach, cover and bring to the boil. When soft and wilted, strain to remove any excess water.

Season with salt and pepper and spoon an equal amount onto each slice of ciabatta.

Top with an egg and mask with the cheese and cream mix.

Place under a hot grill until bubbling and golden brown.

Garnish with snipped chives and serve.