From the Kitchen Window column

For a vegetarian dish, skip the bacon and saute the mushrooms and spinach in additional butter or oil. You can substitute hardier greens such as kale or chard for the spinach. To make them more tender, blanch them in salted water for a couple of minutes and drain before sauteing. The amount of panko you will need depends on the size of your baking dish. I use a small oval about 8-by-6 inches (the dish should hold about 2 cups).

Makes 2 servings

1 small clove garlic, smashed and peeled

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1/4 to 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

Kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

3 to 4 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, quartered if small, sliced if large (6 to 10 mushrooms)

10 ounces (1 bag) fresh spinach

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or other grana cheese

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Prepare a saucepan for poaching the eggs according to the poached egg recipe. Keep the temperature between 200 and 206 degrees.

Combine the garlic and cream in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a steady simmer and reduce the cream by about a third. (Watch carefully. With the small amount of cream, this happens fast.) Remove from the heat and discard the garlic. Allow the cream to cool (stir it occasionally so that a skin doesn't form).

Melt butter in a small pan (or bowl if using a microwave). Toss the panko in the butter with a pinch of salt and a couple of grinds of pepper until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

Heat a small saute pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry until crisp, stirring often to prevent burning. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels. With the pan still hot, add the mushrooms and saute until browned. Remove from the pan. Add the spinach a big handful at a time. The spinach will wilt quickly, allowing you to add more. When you have all the spinach in the pan, salt the spinach, cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 minutes, or until the spinach is tender. Remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the spinach, squeezing against the side of the pan and leaving any liquid behind. If the spinach still seems wet, drain on paper towels.

Spread the spinach evenly in a small gratin dish. Sprinkle the bacon over, then the mushrooms and cheese. Pour the cream in, making sure to distribute it evenly. The dish can be prepared to this point and refrigerated, if desired.

Place the dish in the oven while you poach the eggs. If the dish has been refrigerated, cook for 15 to 20 minutes. The spinach should be hot and the cream bubbling lightly.

Carefully remove the eggs from the poaching water and drain briefly on a paper towel. Remove the dish from the oven and use a large spoon to make two indentations in the spinach. Place one egg in each indentation and sprinkle the entire dish with the panko. Return the dish to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes to brown the panko. [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio]