Poached Egg with Roasted Tomatoes and Tarragon Butter

Roasted tomatoes are a bright spot in winter - if you grow tomatoes, this is one of the nicest ways to put them up. Their intense umami flavor adds richness to any dish, but this is a great way to enjoy them, and it's become one of my favorite breakfasts. I've recently rekindled my love for tarragon, which is easy to grow, perennial, and even somewhat frost hardy so that I sometimes have fresh tarragon even in January. I dried the leaves on my kitchen counter, and I've been using this compound butter on everything. Local eggs may be hard to find this time of year, but with a little extra light early in the morning, hens can lay throughout the winter, although not as much as in the summer.

2 eggs

1 English muffin or 2 slices of any good bread

1/4 t. dried tarragon

1/2 T. butter, softened

1 T. roasted tomatoes

Place two small ramekins or round cookie cutters in the bottom of a medium sized saucepan. Fill the pan halfway with water, cover and bring to a boil. Crack eggs carefully into the ramekins and turn heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until the whites are set.

Meanwhile, put your bread in the toaster. Mix tarragon and butter. When toast is ready, spread with tarragon butter, then with tomatoes. Set poached eggs on toast, and top with a dab of tarragon butter. Serves 1 or 2.