Eggs Benny on Multigrain Baguette

April 16th is National Eggs Benedict Day! Who knew?! I thought a great way to celebrate would be to make a lower fat version of this iconic breakfast classic. Swapping a slice of multigrain baguette for a whole English muffin saves calories and reduces carbs and using a slice of Black Forest ham instead of Canadian back bacon saves on both calories and fat. You can also use less hollandaise sauce than the classic recipes call for; often less is more and in this case less is more healthy!

Now don't be intimidated and don't think that Eggs Benny are only for fancy chefs and Sunday Brunch at the 5-star hotel. For this recipe I just used the standard pots in my kitchen since I don't have a double boiler and I don't have a poaching tray either. No worries - you can make the poached eggs freehand in a pot of hot water. You can totally do this! Cheers Benedict!

INGREDIENTS

Hollandaise Sauce

- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- dash of kosher salt

In addition you will need:

- multigrain baguette slices
- 4 fresh eggs
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 2 slices of Black Forest ham
- pepper


DIRECTIONS

Hollandaise Sauce

1. Put a small pot of water, about an inch deep, on medium heat on the stove
2. Divide 2 eggs and put egg yolks in a stainless steel bowl
3. Add lemon juice to egg yolks and whisk until mixture becomes fluffy
4. Add a pinch of salt and place stainless steel bowl over the pot making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl
5. Whisk egg mix and slowly add melted butter and keep whisking
6. The mixture will thicken slightly, don't leave it on too long or on heat too high, the eggs may scramble, take the sauce off the heat as soon as it starts to thicken
7. Put the sauce aside somewhere warm until you are ready to assemble
8. If the sauce thickens while you are prepping your eggs you can add a tsp of hot water and whisk up again

​Poached Eggs
​
1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and reduce to medium-low heat
2. Add vinegar to the water
3. Crack one egg at a time into a cup or small bowl and gently pour the whole egg into the pot of water on the stove
4. Set the timer for 3 minutes for soft eggs, 4 minutes for medium and 5 minutes for firm eggs
5. Using a slotted spoon remove the eggs from the pot and place in a bowl or directly onto the ham if you're ready to assemble

* adding vinegar to the water isn't necessary but it will help the proteins in the egg to bind and help with the poaching

Ham

​1. While the eggs are cooking quickly heat up your slices of Black Forest ham in a pan over medium heat


Assembling your Eggs Benedict

1. Place 2 multigrain baguette slices on each plate
2. Place 1/2 a slice of Black Forest ham on top of each baguette slice
3. Gently place a poached egg on each one
4. Pour 1/4 of hollandaise sauce over top and add some freshly ground black pepper and serve!


Serves 2

Have a great weekend and love good food! ❤️

As you can see by the cholesterol count, you don't want to make a habit of having this meal every week! Once in awhile it's fine though, go ahead and enjoy!