Eggs Florentine/ Benedict

One of the best things my mom taught me about cooking was how EASY most things were to make.
Yes, baking takes a fair amount of precision, but things like pie crust, dough and pasta are really happy to be manipulated and can tolerate a fair amount of abuse!
And I promise, you won't sweat and panic so much after making things a few times!
It is like hosting a dinner party, people will be relaxed if you are, and the same goes with cooking.
Don't be afraid to try new things! It will expand your menu so much. And even if your only cooking for yourself, it is sure lovely to have a nice dish of something fresh and thoughtfully made.
This leads me to my next wonderful tip....
Hollandaise Sauce
When I was growing up, my mom would make Eggs Benedict on special occasions. She taught me how easy a hollandaise was to make and through the years I have made it hundreds of times.
Over blackened Salmon, over asparagus, over eggs and also with artichokes... buttery, lemony loveliness.
The other morning I was inspired to make eggs and potatoes and hollandaise, and because I didn't have proper english muffins or canadian bacon, I improvised.

So here is my recipe for Eggs Florentine and turmeric flavored cottage fries. So easy and cost nothing at all, one would expect to pay a tremendous amount for this going out to breakfast.

I have yet to have a really good hollandaise at a restaurant and when you see how EASY it is to make you will wonder why!

 

Eggs Benedict with Apple Smoked Bacon on an English Muffin with Hash Browns

Eggs Florentine on homemade bread with cottage fries

 feeds 3 (2 eggs per person)


Ingredients

6 eggs
6 english muffins, french bread, or regular toast ( I used white toast in the picture above)
1 cup of butter = 2 sticks + 3 tsp
3 Tbs of fresh lemon juice
3 egg yolks
1 cup of spinach- I use frozen and defrost it and drain it
6 potatoes diced very small into cubes
1 onion diced thin
1/2 cup of frying oil
Turmeric
Garlic Salt
Sea Salt
Dash of White pepper



Prepare

* Prepare the potatoes and dice them into small cubes
* Add the oil in a cast iron or heavy duty skillet and turn the heat on high, its ready when a potato cube dances around in the oil
*Dice the onion
* When oil is hot enough, add the potatoes, after about 5 minutes add the onion. Add 2 tsp of turmeric and a handful of sea salt towards the end
* Drain on a plate lined with paper towel
* Toast your bread and butter it, set aside
* Prepare your spinach and add a pinch of garlic salt


For the Hollandaise

* In a small pan add the egg yolks and 3 Tbs of lemon juice
* Whisk them together
* Turn the heat on low and add half a stick of butter stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, if mixture appears to be getting to hot by curdling, simply lift off the heat and keep stirring allowing mixture to cool for a second, adjust heat lower if neccesary
*When butter is melted, add another half, carry on with the next stick as done with steps above
* Add a dash of white pepper and give a final mix, put aside off the heat


Poaching Eggs

* Get a large non stick pan and melt a tab of butter on medium high heat
* Crack your eggs into a bowl and add one by one to insure they aren't broken
* As many as you can get in making sure they stay separate, cook for about 2 minutes and then add enough water to the pan to come over the eggs, cover with a lid and turn down heat to medium. Cook for another 3 minutes
* Remove with a slotted spoon to drain the eggs


Plating up

* Put 2 pieces of toast on the plate and a generous scoop of potatoes
* Add a mound of prepared spinach
* Add 1 egg for each toast
* Add your hollandaise sauce


**For Eggs benedict, substitute thick ham or canadian bacon or even regular bacon for the spinach

**For Smoked Salmon Eggs benedict, substitute smoked salmon/ lox for the meat or spinach



Enjoy brunch with your family and friends!