Springtime Farmer’s Market Eggs Benedict

I have a confession to make: I’d never eaten eggs benedict until culinary school in 2019. I was weirdly turned off by hollandaise and had decided in my head that it wasn’t the breakfast for me (also, pancakes over everything).

I’ll never forget during our eggs unit in school when chef announced to the class "we’re making eggs benedict people!” I was hesitant at first but ended up being shocked at how much I loved it and blown away by how easy it was to make!

My style of cooking is fresh, vibrant and California-inspired. I draw my inspiration from the seasonal produce I see on my visits to the Farmer’s Market and conversations I have with the farmers who grow it. I wanted to incorporate that philosophy with a dish like eggs benedict, so I got to testing!

We’re quickly approaching early spring and there is so much beautiful produce being harvested in California right now. Among that are three of my favorite vegetables — spring onions, radishes and Meyer lemons. I love these ingredients because they are so incredibly versatile.

Drawing inspiration from these Farmer’s Market beauties, I landed on a Springtime Farmer’s Market Eggs Benedict. It’s technically not an eggs benedict since there’s no Canadian bacon but it’s equally as delicious! Imagine a toasty English muffin topped with melt-in-your-mouth confit spring onions, a bright arugula + radish + Meyer lemon salad, a runny poached egg and a creamy, airy hollandaise sauce. I’m legit drooling just thinking about it!

I just kicked off a new recurring series over in Instagram - Tuesday Tutorials - where I walk through different cooking techniques and share new recipes with you. I’m excited to dive in and I hope you learn something along the way! Here is the tutorial for this recipe.

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Serves 2 (make 4 eggs benedict).

INGREDIENTS

For the Confit Spring Onions:

• 6 spring onions (or 3 medium shallots)

• 1 bay leaf

• 2 cloves garlic, smashed

• Kosher salt

• Olive oil

For the Hollandaise:

• 2 egg yolks

• 2 Tbsp water

• Pinch of kosher salt

• Pinch of cayenne pepper

• 1/3 cup melted clarified butter or ghee

• 3 tsp Meyer lemon juice (can use regular lemon juice too)

To Assemble:

• 4 large eggs

• 2 large handfuls of arugula

• 4 radishes, thinly sliced

• Juice of 1/2 a Meyer lemon (or regular lemon)

• Maldon salt

• 2 English muffins, halved and toasted

• Freshly cracked black pepper

METHOD

1. Make the confit spring onions:

   1. Pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees F.

   2. Slice off the bulb of the onions and discard the green stems (I like to save in the freezer for chicken stock!). Peel off the outer layer of the onion bulb and slice off the roots and cut the onion bulb in half lengthwise.

   3. Transfer the halved onions, cut side down, to a small baking dish in a single layer along with the bay leaf and garlic cloves. Sprinkle each onion with a pinch of kosher salt and add enough olive oil to barely cover the onions in the pan.

   4. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the onions are tender and fall-apart. Set aside.

2. Make the hollandaise sauce:

   1. Prep a double boiler by heating up 2 inches of water to a simmer in a medium pot.

   2. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, water, salt and cayenne until homogenous in a heat-proof bowl that will fit on top of the pot with water.

   3. Place the bowl on top of the pot of simmering water and immediately begin whisking the mixture. You want to mix constantly and vigorously until the mixture has thickened and almost tripled in volume, about 3 minutes. Make sure to whisk the sides every once in a while to avoid cooking any egg. It’s ready when you can see the bottom of the bowl while whisking and the mixture forms ribbons.

   4. Take the bowl off the heat and very slowly stream in the melted clarified butter or gee until you’ve added it all. The mixture should be fairly thick at this point and very light + airy.

   5. Stir in the lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt to taste. Store in a covered thermos until you’re ready to assemble to eggs benedict (it will keep in the thermos for 1-2 hours!).

3. Poach your eggs:

   1. Crack your eggs into separate bowls and set aside

   2. Bring 4-5 inches of water to just below a simmer (no bubbles should form) and drop the eggs into the water, one at a time. Depending on the size of your pot, you can cook 3-4 eggs at a time.

   3. After 2 1/2 - 3 minutes, remove the eggs from the pot and onto a paper-towel lined plate. Pat dry and season with a pinch of kosher salt.

4. Assemble the eggs benedict:

   1. Toss together the arugula and sliced radishes together with the juice from 1/2 of a Meyer lemon, a drizzle of EVOO (about 2 tsp) and a pinch of Maldon salt to taste.

   2. Lay out the toasted English muffin halves on two plates. Top each with a few pieces of the confit spring onion (making sure any excess oil drains off first).

   3. Pile on some of the arugula + radish salad and top with the poached egg.

   4. Top the egg with some freshly cracked black pepper and finish with a generous helping of the hollandaise sauce. Enjoy!