Gluten-Free Eggs Benedict
This Sunday is Mother’s Day. But this year, Mother’s Day will be unlike any other any of us have ever experienced. See, in the past, we’ve taken our moms to nice restaurants for beautiful brunches with mimosas. We’ve sent them to spas for relaxing massages. We’ve taken them to hotels for a wonderful weekend of pampering. We’ve done all these things and more because they’re our moms. They deserve to be celebrated. They deserve to be honored… this year more than any other.
Unfortunately, we can’t do any of those things this year. This year, there are no fancy brunches or professional massages. There aren’t any vacant hotel rooms with thousand-count sheets. This year, anything we want to do we’ll have to do at home. But just because you can’t go out to a nice restaurant or hotel, doesn’t mean you can’t make her day special. You could bring in some beautiful flowers. You can draw her a nice bubble bath filled with essential oils or you could make her a special breakfast. A breakfast you would only find in a restaurant. A breakfast that will tell her just how special she is.
I have just such a breakfast, and it’s happens to be a breakfast I discovered at a local restaurant before the world shut down. On the menu at the local Hook & Plow was eggs benedict. I know, eggs benedict isn’t that unusual and can be found on many a brunch menu. As a matter of fact, I usually skip right over it because I’m not a fan of Canadian bacon or bread soaked in a Hollandaise sauce. But this version intrigued me. This version didn’t use Canadian bacon or English muffins. Instead, Hook & Plow used smoked salmon and roasted fingerling potatoes. See, it was a gluten-free eggs benedict, which means no wheat. No wheat means no bread, and no bread means a lighter meal.
These days when we’re all just sitting home, bingeing shows, and eating and drinking, a lighter brunch option is just the ticket. Now, eggs, potatoes and smoked salmon may sound like they’d be on the heavy side, but the combination eats pretty light, especially since the potatoes are roasted instead of fried. But it’s that Hollandaise that ties the whole meal together. While it’s true that a Hollandaise can have a several calories all on its own, when you take the bread and bacon out of the equation, you lose a lot more calories than the Hollandaise has all by itself. The best news is, that losing the calories doesn’t mean you lose flavor. In fact, it’s just the opposite. The sauce and poached eggs pair amazingly well with the potatoes and smoked salmon, making this breakfast option a delectable treat that will have mom smiling all day long. Serve it alongside a bouquet of flowers and a tall mimosa and she may just forget all about that quarantine… at least until Monday.
Notes
Adapted from Hook & Plow Restaurant
Ingredients
- 12 fingerling potatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 4 eggs, fried
- 1 package smoked salmon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with tin foil.
- Scrub the potatoes clean. Toss them with the olive oil, salt and pepper and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes or until tender.
Make the Hollandaise sauce:
- Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in the egg yolks, one a time, until combined.
- Add the lemon juice and heavy cream, whisking constantly, until heated through and thickened. Set aside.
Assemble the Eggs Benedict:
- Split the roasted potatoes between 2 plates in a single even layer.
- Top the potatoes with the smoked salmon.
- Place 2 fried eggs on top of the salmon.
- Drizzle with the Hollandaise sauce and serve.
