I enjoy waking up early on the weekends to prepare a breakfast that I wouldn't normally have time to make during the week.
Eggs Benedict is typically made with two halves of an English muffin topped with Canadian back bacon, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce. I have made a vegetarian variation of the classic dish with tomato sauce spiced up with jalapeño peppers and fresh avocado.
Hollandaise sauce is an emulsified butter sauce traditionally made with egg yolks, a white wine vinegar reduction, lemon juice, and clarified butter, seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper. In this recipe, I'll demonstrate how to make brown butter, which will give the finished hollandaise sauce a rich, nutty flavor.
The number of ingredients you may use to make your own variation of this traditional breakfast or brunch dish is virtually limitless. Happy cooking.
Chef notes:
Try adding leftover rotisserie chicken pulled off the bone and mixed into the tomato sauce for a different version of this recipe.
Yield: serves 4
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cook time: 1 hour
Tomato Sauce
2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 jalapeño pepper, small dice
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 can tomato sauce (390 ml)
Salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
Hollandaise Sauce
½ lb salted butter
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup water
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
3 egg yolks
2 tsp lemon juice
Eggs Benedict
8 eggs
4 sourdough English muffins
1 avocado, sliced thin
For the tomato sauce
Add the olive oil to a saucepot on medium heat.
Add the garlic and jalapeño to the pot and sauté for 1 minute.
Slice the green onions thinly. Save the green end for garnishing the eggs benedict and add the white end of the onions to the saucepot with the garlic and jalapeño. Sauté, stirring continuously for about 2 minutes.
Add the canned tomato sauce, turn the heat down, and simmer while you prepare the rest of the recipe. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the hollandaise
Fill a saucepot with water and a splash of white vinegar and turn it on medium heat.
Add the butter to a separate saucepot on high heat. Cook until the butter starts to foam, stir and turn off the heat once it starts to brown.
Pour the hot butter into a measuring cup to make it easy to slowly pour when making the hollandaise. Allow it to cool slightly.
Add the vinegar, water, and peppercorns to a small saucepot on high heat and reduce by half. Turn off the heat and strain out the peppercorns.
Pour the vinegar reduction into a mixing bowl with the egg yolks.
Whisk the egg yolk over the pot with simmering water until it reaches the ribbon stage. Remove the bowl every minute or so to allow the steam to escape to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
Stir in the lemon juice and while continuously whisking, start slowly adding in the brown butter in a steady stream until all the butter is added.
Keep the bowl of hollandaise sauce in a warm place while you finish the egg benedict. The sauce should remain warm but not hot, to prevent it from splitting.
Finishing the plate
Turn the heat up on the pot of vinegar water to a gentle boil.
Crack two eggs into a small bowl.
Stir the water and add the eggs one at a time. Cook the eggs for about 3 minutes to soft poached.
Remove the eggs from the water onto a towel to drain.
Toast the English muffins and add them to the middle of a plate.
Add a spoonful of tomato sauce to each muffin. Then a few slices of avocado, the poached eggs, and a spoonful of the hollandaise.
Garnish with the green onion and serve. Enjoy!
©chefalisonbiebs