Eggs "Sardou" --With Artichoke Heart And Spinach

1. 1

   ["Fill a large pot 3/4 full with water. Add a few tablespoons of kosher salt (water should taste of salt) and bring to a boil. Rub the cut sides and bottoms of the artichokes with the lemon wedges. Squeeze the juice from the lemons into the boiling water. Add the artichokes and lemon halves, and simmer, partially covered, until the bottoms are tender and can be pierced with a sharp knife and an outer leaf pulls out easily, 15 to 20 minutes (or more if the artichokes are very large). Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid for the spinach. Drain the artichokes upside down in a colander.

2. 2

   When the artichokes are cool enough to handle, remove the outer leaves so the inner choke and prickly leaves are revealed. (At this point I am munching on the leaves, but you can reserve them for another use or discard them.) Pull out the cone of white leaves in the center and gently scrape out the hairy choke with a spoon so as not to damage the heart. Place the artichoke hearts in a dish, cover, and keep warm. (You can put them into a 200 degree oven.)", "Warm 2 plates for serving.", "Cook bacon till crisp. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of fat, and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Cook garlic till just softened--don't let it burn. Add spinach and a little of the artichoke liquor to the pan, and cover and cook until all the spinach has wilted. Uncover and let the liquid reduce somewhat. Stir the bacon or pancetta back into the spinach and add salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Place into a covered dish and keep warm. (You can put it into the oven also.)", "Place the creme fraiche into a small saucepan and stir the lemon juice, zest, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce into the creme fraiche. Place over very low heat to warm gently. Stir and adjust seasoning.", "Fry or poach the eggs. (I like Merrill's technique for frying eggs in olive oil, and there's a great recipe for poached eggs on this site as well.)", "To serve, divide the spinach between the two warmed plates. Place two artichoke bottoms on the spinach on each plate. Place the eggs on the artichoke bottoms. Stir the warm creme fraiche and spoon it over the eggs. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve immediately."]

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.