Apr 20, 2009

Scrambled Eggs Benedict Florentine

I've been trying many new recipes, and finally started going through my stash of recipes torn from magazines instead of just those saved in my Google Reader. One of the recipes I found was Eggs Benedict Florentine with Creamy Butter Sauce from the January 2007 issue of Cooking Light. The original sauce sounded more complicated than what I could handle with kids running underfoot, so I swapped it for the simple blender hollandaise from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything. I also tinkered with the amounts since I was only serving four people. It turns out that Marc hates hollandaise, but he enjoyed every other part of this dish. I liked it too, but I missed the oozing the egg yolk of traditional Eggs Benedict.

Scrambled Eggs Benedict Florentine (adapted from Cooking Light)
Serves 4

2 large egg whites (save the yolks for the hollandaise sauce)
3 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
6 cups fresh spinach, trimmed (I used a bag of prewashed spinach from Trader Joe's)
4 English muffins, split and toasted
8 slices CrockPot Maple Ham or 4 slices Canadian bacon, halved
2 egg yolks
1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch of dry mustard, salt & pepper
3 tablespoons butter
hot water, if necessary

1. Place the English muffin halves cut side up on four plates. Top each half muffin with a slice of ham. (I used leftover maple ham, which was delicious!).
2. Beat the egg whites, eggs, salt and pepper together. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. When the garlic is sizzling, add the eggs and cook until set, stirring to scramble. Divide the eggs over each muffin half.
3. While the eggs are cooking, heat the remaining one teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the spinach and sauté for five minutes, or until just wilted. (I actually like to over-cook my spinach and let the liquid that seeps out evaporate.) Divide the spinach over each muffin half.
4. While the spinach is cooking, combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a blender. Melt the butter in the microwave (it should be hot). Blend the egg yolk mixture and pour in the hot butter. Thin with hot water until desired consistency is reached. Divide the sauce over each topped English muffin and serve immediately.

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