To me, Eggs Benedict is synonymous with brunch. The toasted english muffin and perfectly poached egg with a creamy, rich hollandaise sauce seals the deal for the end of a great weekend. I was feeling a little adventurous this morning [coughafternoon] and decided to explore my new love of eggs and marinara sauce. A while ago I came across a wonderful recipe for parmesan risotto topped with a fried egg and a dollop of marinara sauce. The flavors worked so perfectly together that I knew another combination had to be concocted. There are other variations of an "Italian Eggs Benedict" such as poaching the eggs in marina sauce or as a hollandaise replacement. In my opinion you can't have an eggs benedict without hollandaise sauce, so here is my take on a classic brunch dish!
Ingredients:
5 eggs with 3 of the yolks separated and put aside
2 Tbs Marina sauce of your choice
1 English Muffin, sliced
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup [1 stick] firm butter (I cut this in 1/2 and is tasted just fine)
1 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
What to do:
1. Heat oven to 300 F degrees, put English Muffins on a baking sheet and toast until eggs are poached
Bring a medium sized sauce pan filled half-way with water to a boil
2. Reduce heat to med-low and crack eggs one at a time into a deep ladle
3. Slowly and carefully place the ladle with the egg into the hot water and gently tip to the side so the egg slide into the water. Repeat with 2nd egg
4. While eggs are poaching for the next 4-5 minutes, remove English Muffins from the oven and spoon 1 Tbs of Marinara on each toasted English Muffin on the baking pan
5. Remove poached eggs with a slotted spoon and gently place one on each English Muffin
6. Turn oven temperate to "WARM" and return the baking sheet to the oven to keep muffins and eggs warm.
7. Place the 3 separated yolks into another smaller saucepan and whisk together with the lemon juice
8. Once combined, turn the heat to low and add in the butter 1/4 cup at a time (or 1/8 at a time if cutting in 1/2 = 2 Tbs)
9. Continue whisking the butter into the egg and let it melt gradually - you want the eggs to cook all the way through
10. Keep adding the butter in gradually and whisking until the sauce has become thick and creamy.
11. If curdles appear in the mixture, remove pan from heat and add a Tbs of boiling water to smooth it out
12. Once sauce is done, turn off heat, remove muffins from oven, pour sauce over each and sprinkle with the grated parmesan
