A vegetarian version of a classic… with a little kick!
See the bottom of the page for the condensed instructions.
Ingredients
To make 4 Servings use the following amounts, for larger groups just multiply the ingredients to scale up.
- 8 Tomatillos
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1-2 Jalapenos (depending on how spicy, remove seeds and use one for mild, one whole for mild-medium, and 2 for medium to hot depending on the peppers)
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 small white onion quartered and peeled
- 11 Eggs (8 to poach and 3 yolks for the hollandaise)
- 4 English Muffins, or other bread that you like
- 1 Stick Salted Butter
- 1 Table Spoon Lime Juice
- 1/2 Cup White Wine (I like Pinot Grigio for this)
- 1/4 tsp Ancho Chile Powder (or Cayenne if you can’t find the Ancho)
- 2 Avocados
- 1 Poblano or 1 Green onion for Garnish
Instructions and stuff…
When I make this recipe I normally make 1.5 or 2 times the hollandaise so there is plenty… for simplicity the following ingredients are the only ones you need to multiply: 3 Eggs, 1 Stick Butter,1 Table Spoon of Lime Juice. The white wine here is used as a carrier for a little extra acid and as a carrier for the Ancho chile powder.
While I’m at it, I often double the Tomatillo Salsa, which is great as a dip for chips, scrambled into eggs, or on chicken, fish, or pork at dinner… Really however you use salsa…
To make the whole thing simpler I’ve combined a few different newer techniques to ease the process of poaching the eggs and making the hollandaise also I’ve separated the basic steps, for example, you can make the Salsa up to 3 days before you want to make this dish and just keep it covered in the fridge, whereas the hollandaise needs to be made less than 5 minutes before serving the dish or else it will start to firm up in an unpleasant way. The hardest part about this recipe is the timing, but if you read through this whole recipe before beginning, prep your ingredients and equipment before you begin all the cooking you’ll be golden… Stuff you should get out when you’re ready to make the eggs benedict: The salsa, all the other ingredients, a food processor or blender (a food processor is really better so that you can get all the sauce out). So once you get the timing of this recipe down it’s super easy to repeat, even for a group of 10 or 12 people, the methods I use outlined below make scaling up this recipe for a large group a breeze. So buckle in or strap down or whatever other cliche euphemism you like and let’s get going!
Tomatillo Salsa…
You should make this ahead of time, anywhere from the first thing in the morning, to the day before to up to 3 days before.
- 8 Tomatillos
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1-2 Jalapenos (depending on how spicy, remove seeds and use one for mild, one whole for mild-medium, and 2 for medium to hot depending on the peppers)
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 small white onion
Preheat your broiler on high if you have an option and place your top rack about 4-6 inches below the top. Peel your tomatillos and garlic and toss them on a cookie sheet. Slice the top off of the jalapeno(s) to remove the stem, then toss onto the cookie sheet.
Put the cookie sheet on the broiler, set a timer for 12 minutes, and using tongs halfway through the timer (AKA after 6 minutes) turn each item over. Once done toss everything into a blender or food processor and run it till mostly smooth. Cut the bottom 3-4 inches of the cilantro and toss into the blender or food processor, while it’s running quarter and peel your onion and then toss that in as well. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Once you’re happy and your salsa is happy happy, pour it into a container that can be sealed.
Poaching your eggs…
Before you begin poaching your eggs I recommend melting the butter for the sauce in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, once melted keep the butter hot over low heat.
Also, you should prep your sides and garnish, for sides I like hashbrowns, roasted potatoes, or fresh fruit. For the garnish, half the avocados and thinly slice each half, very thinly slice your poblano pepper or your green onions and set aside.
There has to be a million ways to poach an egg out there right now, and you probably know a few of them, or maybe not… either way the way I’m about to tell you is easy for 2 people and is probably the easiest way to make them for a large group….
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Get out a muffin pan and some soft butter, and rub a little bit all over to fully coat each of the muffin holes that you’re going to add an egg into. Before you crack the eggs into the pre-buttered muffin holes add one tablespoon of water to each hole then add the eggs to each of the holes. Put the muffin pan in the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes. Check to see if the eggs are done at 9 minutes and if you want them a little firmer leave them in for 10 or 11, to get the eggs out, run a knife around each egg and scoop out with a spoon, but we won’t be doing that for a minute.
Toast your English Muffins…
While your eggs are poaching (or baking) toast your English muffins… This step is pretty straightforward, ya know, just cut the muffins in half and toast them a little harder than you normally make toast.
Make the Hollandaise…
- 3 Egg Yolks
- 1 Stick Salted Butter
- 1 Table Spoon Lime Juice
- 1/2 Cup White Wine (I like Pinot Grigio for this)
- Ancho Chile Powder (or Cayenne if you can’t find the Ancho)
If you’ve already melted your butter this will be a snap, if not start by melting your butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. In a small pan add the wine and the ancho chile powder and bring to a boil over high heat, once boiling reduce to medium to continue to reduce the wine by half stirring occasionally.
While the wine is reducing add the three egg yolks and the lime juice to a food processor (if you don’t have one a blender works fine). Run the food processor after a few seconds slowly pour in the melted butter in a very thin stream (the drizzle cup works really well for this). Lastly, add in the reduced wine containing the ancho chile powder to the food processor (or blender). That’s it for the hollandaise, literally a snap compared to whisking everything together in a Bain Marie!
Final prep and Assembly…
Hopefully, you’ve already made the salsa and prepped your garnish, if so everything should be coming together right about now. So put down your English muffins on plates, put a large spoonful of the salsa on each of the English muffin halves, scoop the eggs out of the muffin pan and onto the salsa on top of each English muffin half, put hollandaise on top of each egg, if you have some hollandaise leftover serve it on the side when you serve the benedicts. Top each muffin with a quarter of an avocado then some of the garnish… That’s it you’re ready to eat!
Condensed Recipe
- 8 Tomatillos
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1-2 Jalapenos (depending on how spicy, remove seeds and use one for mild, one whole for mild-medium, and 2 for medium to hot depending on the peppers)
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 small white onion quartered and peeled
- 11 Eggs (8 to poach and 3 yolks for the hollandaise)
- 4 English Muffins, or other bread that you like
- 1 Stick Salted Butter
- 1 Table Spoon Lime Juice
- 1/2 Cup White Wine (I like Pinot Grigio for this)
- Ancho Chile Powder (or Cayenne if you can’t find the Ancho)
- 2 Avocados
- 1 Poblano or 1 Green onion for Garnish
Preheat your broiler on high if you have an option and place your top rack about 4-6 inches below the top. Peel your tomatillos and garlic and toss them on a cookie sheet. Slice the top off of the jalapeno(s) to remove the stem, then toss onto the cookie sheet. Broil everything for 12 minutes turning everything over about halfway through. Add everything to a food processor or blender, and after it’s combined add the cilantro and white onion and continue to blend till everything is smoothish. Remove to a storage container.
Halve and thinly slice each avocado, then thinly slice the poblanos or green onions and set aside.
Add the wine and the ancho chile powder to a small saute pan, heat while stirring or swirling until reduced by half, and remove from the heat once reduced.
Add the butter for the hollandaise sauce to a small saucepan and melt it over medium-low heat. While the butter is melting proceed to the next step, once it melts lower the heat to low heat.
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Butter each hole in a muffin pan you will add an egg to. Add one tablespoon of water to each buttered hole then crack and add an egg to each hole. Add the muffin pan to the preheated oven and set a timer for 10 minutes (you might need to check the pan at 9 minutes to see if it’s done cooking to your liking, it might appear underdone but that could be the water floating on the top of the eggs).
While the eggs are cooking, toast your English muffins.
While the Muffins are toasting and the eggs are cooking add three egg yolks to the bowl of a food processor with a tablespoon of lime juice. Run the processor for a few seconds and while running the food processor add the butter in a very thin stream (the drizzle cup on the food processor is perfect for that). Once the butter is incorporated add the reduced wine ancho chile mix while the processor is still running.
Place 2 of the toasted English muffin halves on each person’s plate, add a large spoonful of salsa to each muffin, add the poached eggs to the muffins with the salsa on them, top with some of the hollandaise sauce and then a quarter sliced avocado and some of the garnish. That’s it, serve and enjoy!