I absolutely love Eggs Benedict. I mean who doesn’t love it?! My favourite variation is the one with smoked salmon, but if you prefer yours with something else, such as back bacon – by all means, use that instead!
Also, once you make poached eggs a couple of times and get familiar with the technique, it becomes so easy to make them. In the recipe, I’m suggesting making 4 eggs at a time, however, I often use a very wide 12-14″ pan and cook about 8 eggs all at once (don’t try that on your first try.)
Result? Unbelievably delicious lunch that is reasonably simple enough to make for a large group of people, yet fancy enough to impress. But again, you need to make it a couple of times first and get familiar with cooking poached eggs.
I broil a bunch English muffins all at once, top with bacon or smoked salmon, poached egg and serve right on a baking sheet, where each guest can help themselves!
One last thing, more often than not, I completely skip making Hollandaise sauce. It’s by far the most time-consuming and difficult part of this dish. Skipping it, lightens up the calories and also makes this dish a lot easier and quicker to make. The runny egg yolk provides plenty of sauce anyway. I cannot think of a more perfect and enjoyable lunch!
Hope you give this Benedict a try!
To make the Hollandaise:
Bring a pot of water to a gentle simmer. In the meantime, in a heatproof bowl, whisk egg yolks with lemon juice until the mixture thickens and increases in volume. Set the mixture on top of the simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Ensure the heat is not too high and you are constantly whisking, otherwise your eggs will scramble. Keep whisking while slowly drizzling in the butter (very slowly to prevent the mixture from separating.) Keep whisking until the mixture is smooth, thick and close to double in volume. If your sauce is thicker than desired, you can adjust consistency by adding warm water, a tablespoon at a time. The water will also help if the sauce separates while you are making it - just add the water and whisk until it forms into a smooth sauce.
Remove from heat and stir in salt to taste.
If you are not used to making Hollandaise, it's possible that you may have a few lumps from some of the egg cooking. Simple to fix! Just strain your sauce in a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover it and keep warm until ready to serve.
Bring a wide pan with at least 3 inches of water to a simmer. Add vinegar or lemon juice (but this technique will also work without the acid, although it helps.) Reduce to a gentle simmer and crack your eggs, one at a time, straight into the pot. Stir the water gently for about 7 seconds in a circular motion before adding the next egg. Cook 4 eggs at a time. Allow the eggs to sit in the simmering water until the egg whites are set but the egg yolks are still very soft. This will generally take 3-5 minutes. You can easily feel the eggs at any time and once the egg feels like it's cooked to your liking, remove it to a plate and ensure to drain well. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
While your eggs are cooking in the simmering water, preheat the broiler, separate English muffins in half, and toast under the broiler with the cut side up. Top each muffin with smoked salmon slices. Alternatively, you may top the muffins with any other toppings of choice.
Place warm drained egg on top. Gently spoon some Hollandaise over each egg, if using. Sprinkle with salt, paprika or cayenne and parsley. Serve warm.
This is my absolute favourite lunch. We make it often and to make the process easier, while lightening the calories, we skip the Hollandaise sauce and it still tastes absolutely delicious. Remember, the egg yolk will work like sauce, so you may not miss the Hollandaise that much!
Ingredients
Directions
To make the Hollandaise:
Bring a pot of water to a gentle simmer. In the meantime, in a heatproof bowl, whisk egg yolks with lemon juice until the mixture thickens and increases in volume. Set the mixture on top of the simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Ensure the heat is not too high and you are constantly whisking, otherwise your eggs will scramble. Keep whisking while slowly drizzling in the butter (very slowly to prevent the mixture from separating.) Keep whisking until the mixture is smooth, thick and close to double in volume. If your sauce is thicker than desired, you can adjust consistency by adding warm water, a tablespoon at a time. The water will also help if the sauce separates while you are making it - just add the water and whisk until it forms into a smooth sauce.
Remove from heat and stir in salt to taste.
If you are not used to making Hollandaise, it's possible that you may have a few lumps from some of the egg cooking. Simple to fix! Just strain your sauce in a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover it and keep warm until ready to serve.
Bring a wide pan with at least 3 inches of water to a simmer. Add vinegar or lemon juice (but this technique will also work without the acid, although it helps.) Reduce to a gentle simmer and crack your eggs, one at a time, straight into the pot. Stir the water gently for about 7 seconds in a circular motion before adding the next egg. Cook 4 eggs at a time. Allow the eggs to sit in the simmering water until the egg whites are set but the egg yolks are still very soft. This will generally take 3-5 minutes. You can easily feel the eggs at any time and once the egg feels like it's cooked to your liking, remove it to a plate and ensure to drain well. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
While your eggs are cooking in the simmering water, preheat the broiler, separate English muffins in half, and toast under the broiler with the cut side up. Top each muffin with smoked salmon slices. Alternatively, you may top the muffins with any other toppings of choice.
Place warm drained egg on top. Gently spoon some Hollandaise over each egg, if using. Sprinkle with salt, paprika or cayenne and parsley. Serve warm.
This is my absolute favourite lunch. We make it often and to make the process easier, while lightening the calories, we skip the Hollandaise sauce and it still tastes absolutely delicious. Remember, the egg yolk will work like sauce, so you may not miss the Hollandaise that much!
Make it Vegetarian: omit smoked salmon. Consider replacing it with braised asparagus or a tomato slice instead.
Make it Gluten-Free: serve on gluten-free English muffins/bread. Ensure all your ingredients are gluten free.
Make it Low Carb/Keto: omit English muffins. High fat content of this recipe while being low carb makes this dish very keto. Consider serving this on top of steamed/roasted cauliflower steak or pan seared zucchini instead of bread.
