Poached eggs are one of the easiest, simplest breakfasts around. Hot water, fresh eggs, 4 minutes – that’s all you need for one of the best toppings for toast, noodles or pretty much anything that there is. You can cook them directly in your noodle soup, like this ramen recipe from Shu Han Lee, or use them to finish a Korean-Italian risotto in this kimchi risotto recipe from Joo Won.

However, poached eggs are probably most well-known as being a brunch staple. Whether on a simple avocado toast, or complex brunch dishes, like eggs Benedict and its spinachy cousin eggs Florentine, poached eggs are all over brunch menus. They also feature in Turkish eggs, which are poached eggs served on yoghurt with a drizzle of chilli butter.

Poached eggs also pair really well with potatoes, and potato pancakes in particular. You could enjoy a poached egg on top of potato pancakes with smoked eel à la Jeremy Lee or with a simple boxty and some black pudding. Louise Robinson used poached eggs to top her simple, buttery potato cakes alongside some smoked haddock and Jozef Rogulski used them to top his incredible brown butter potato rosti.

If you really want to shake things up, you can also deep-fry poached eggs, after coating them in breadcrumbs or even pastry. Check out our full range of poached egg recipes below for some inspiration for great ways to enjoy poached eggs, new and old.