Beets and Duck Eggs on Toast

I was very lucky earlier this week to come across some Fresh Duck Eggs!
Now, I know most people may not be familiar with them, since they aren't sold in the corner stores so I'll give a brief rundown.

On the outside:

Duck eggs are bigger than chicken eggs, and have a significantly thicker shell. This can make them a little harder to crack, but that also makes them more resilient to market bag packing and gives them a longer shelf life.

On the insides:

L: Duck Yolk R: Chicken Yolk

Duck yolk is much bigger than a chicken yolk. It's higher in protein and has higher omega-3s. Besides that, duck eggs are nutritional similar to chicken eggs. 

And the most important part...They are delicious! 
Duck eggs are flavorful in their own right, and that has a lot to do with their diet. Ducks prefer to eat a variety of high-protein insects, over plants and eat little to no feed, and that impacts the flavor of their eggs significantly.

You can cook duck eggs pretty much the same way as a chicken egg; but you need to factor in a few things: 1- the thicker shell means longer boiling, 2- A higher fat content makes them creamier and richer. 

They add a great depth of flavor to a dish and so I decided to pair them with two great buys from yesterday's farmers market beautiful beets and a very rustic farmhouse loaf of multigrain sourdough.

This morning was beautifully sunny, so we  decided to have a our Saturday Breakfast in our garden with the birds. This is great as an appetizer, brunch, or as a light meal. The earthy toast, topped with tangy, dill marinated beets, and creamy flavorful soft boiled duck eggs was a great way to start the weekend.

Here is my recipe for Beets and Duck Eggs on Toast:

Makes a 4-6 Toasts
Ingredients:

8 oz Cooked, Peeled, Chopped Beets
2 Duck Eggs ( Or 3-4 Chicken Eggs)
6 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
4 tsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Honey Mustard
3 tsp Fresh Dill, Minced
Multigrain Sourdough Sliced Thick
Salt & Black Pepper

Prep Work:
Boil the Eggs for 5-6 minutes, peel, cool, chop, and set aside. Cook the beets, peel, chop, and set aside.

Directions:

Preheat the oven boiler to high.

1. Put Oil, Vinegar, Mustard, Dill, Salt and Pepper, and whisk together to make a dressing.

2. Pour half of the dressing over the beets, stir and coat throughly.

3. Brush the sliced bread on both sides with olive oil and place  under the broiler for 2-3 minutes till crispy, and golden brown.

4. After the 2-3 minutes turn the slices over, and cover them to the edges with marinated beets. Put back under the broiler for another 2-3 minutes until beets are lightly caramelized in spots.

5. Plate slices with beets and top with chopped duck eggs, drizzle reserved dressing over the tops and serve.

ENJOY!

I have entered this post in August's Simply Eggcellent hosted by Dom at Belleau Kitchen.