There’s nothing I love more for brunch or lunch than homemade Eggs Benedict. Yum. There’s definitely something so comforting about eggs and this recipe brings out the full flavour of the eggs and whilst filling, it’s a healthy option and can be served in so many ways that you can totally make it your own.
This recipe is for the full Monty Eggs Benedict but you can add or subtract ingredients so that you can get the perfect dish.
You can also easily make your own hollandaise sauce or buy a ready made one. My favourite ready made one to buy is Maille Hollandaise which is delicious and can be served warmed up or straight from the jar.
You can make this recipe Vegetarian by replacing the meat with salmon or a meat substitute or just having it with the avocado.
With the ingredients you can choose to have raw spinach or boiled. The tomatoes you can fry or have raw and you can heat the hollandaise or have it fresh out of the jar. You can use bacon or slices of ham or shredded ham and you can have fried eggs instead of poached if you prefer.
You use any kind of bread as a base too. It really is a dish you can play around with and make it exactly how you would like it.
Who created Eggs Benedict?
So how did the idea of Eggs Benedict come about? There are so many stories about who invented it as a dish and when.
In the 1860s Chef Charles Ranhofer from Delmonico’s Restaurant claimed that he invented it when a regular at their restaurant, Mrs LeGrand Benedict, asked him to make something new for her. He liked it so much that he published this recipe in his cookbook in 1894.
OR
A retired Wall Street stock broker, Lemuel Benedict in 1894, claimed that whilst dining at the Waldorf Hotel and apparently suffering from a hangover, ordered some dishes that contained the ingredients for eggs benedict and he put these all together in order to find a cure for his hangover !! The Maitre d’ Oscar Tschirsky, saw how delicious it looked and consequently put the dish on the menu. Tschirsky is also credited as the inventor of the Waldorf salad too. Apparently Tschirsky also used to work at Delmonico’s Restaurant when eggs benedict started to become popular?!!
OR
Edward P Montgomery claimed on behalf of Commodore E C Benedict in 1967 that the recipe belonged to his uncle, who was apparently a friend of Commodore Benedict. He sent a recipe for it to the New York Times food column in which he claimed it came from the Commodore.
Whoever it was that came up with the idea for Eggs Benedict was a genius. It’s a superb and delicious idea and one of my favourite comfort meals and great fun and easy to make.
How to cook the perfect poached egg
There’s never a right or wrong way to poach an egg. It’s a fairly simple process to put an egg in some boiling water until it sets, but how do you cook a really tasty and good looking poached egg?
Using a fresh egg is better apparently. How do you tell if your egg is fresh? You can tell if an egg is fresh by popping it into a glass of water. If it lies flat on the bottom then it’s fresh. If it starts to float or stand up then it’s not so fresh.
Crack your egg in a bowl or cup first and then gently tip into the boiling water ( or you can use a poaching bag or poaching silicon cup)
Add a little vinegar to the water as this apparently helps the egg to keep its shape in the water
Stir the water around the egg when it first goes into the pan and this will help the egg white to stay around the yolk
The recommended time is 3-4 minutes or until the egg white is set – ( 3 minutes for a runny yolk, 4 for a slightly set yolk with a runny middle and 5 minutes for a set yolk)
Use a slotted spoon to remove the egg from the water and place on a piece of kitchen roll to help dry off the excess water before serving.
The Recipe
This recipe is for one person with 2 eggs. It can be changed to 1 egg if you would prefer.
Equipment Required:
- Saucepan
- Frying Pan ( if doing bacon) or you can do this in an air fryer
- Egg poacher bag or silicone cup
- Slotted spoon
- Kitchen Roll
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