Eggs Florentine have become a little addiction of mine lately. Usually I make scrambled eggs for breakfast, but recently I found a new way to make hollandaise sauce which is so much easier and now I don’t feel like a failure making this for breakfast! And I love the spinach (it would be Eggs Benedict without it), as it gives me a start on getting my five or more fruits and veggies for the day.
Eggs Florentine is a slow morning breakfast. Do not attempt this is you don’t have a lot of time, or if you are feeling stressed! Lots of things are happening at once during the preparation – so being prepared with all the utensils and ingredients it the key. Luckily for me, it’s school holidays so my mornings are slow and I can indulge in Eggs Florentine.
Here is a brief summary of the chaos that is called “creating Eggs Florentine”:
First you are going to make the hollandaise sauce, and start boiling the water for the poached eggs.
Next you are going to cook the spinach and fry some bacon.
Last of all, you are going to poach the eggs and toast your English muffins.
They then all come together to make the tastiest Eggs Florentine you ever had!
So let’s talk about the hollandaise sauce first. I’ve always knew about using a double boiler, and slowing adding the butter while whisking the eggs. Because I’m not an octopus, I struggle getting all this coordinated and end up with butter that has separated from the eggs rather than a nice smooth sauce.
Then I read about using a blender. First, melt your butter on the stove top. Put the egg yolks in a blender and turn it on low. Slowly add the hot butter through the vent in the lid. I only add about 1 teaspoon at a time. Once the butter is added, add the lemon juice and pepper. Turn off the blender and taste. If necessary add some salt. Pour the sauce into a bowl and cover until everything else is ready.
While you are making the hollandaise sauce, start boiling some water with vinegar so it will be ready when you need to poach the eggs.
The next step is the spinach. This is easy stuff. Remove the stems off the spinach. Melt some butter in a saucepan and throw in the spinach. Leave it to wilt while you start frying some bacon.
Hopefully you got that water boiling while you were making the hollandaise sauce. Reduce the temperature so that the water is at a low simmer. Crack an egg into a small ramekin bowl. Slip the egg into the simmering water and using a spoon, quickly push any stray egg white back towards the egg. Don’t try to crack the egg straight into the water, as your egg has a higher chance of falling apart or getting egg shell stuck in the egg. You can usually fit about 2-3 eggs into the saucepan, but this will depend on the size of your saucepan. Allow each egg to simmer for about 3-4 minutes. They should be runny in the center but the white will be holding firm.
While those eggs are cooking, check the spinach and bacon. Take the spinach off the hot plate, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drain any excess butter. Move the bacon onto paper toweling to absorb some of the fat.
Split and toast the muffins – you can use the toaster if you are only cooking a small batch or use the broiler for larger gatherings.
Finally, put all your hard work together. Place the muffin on a plate and layer with spinach, bacon then the poached egg. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of hollandaise sauce over the egg.
Enjoy – you certainly have deserved it after all that work!
- 8 cups water
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon butter
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 4 slices bacon
- 4 large eggs
- 2 English muffins, split
- 3 large eggs yolks
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- salt, to taste
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Add the 3 eggs yolks to a blender. With the blender running on low, slowly add the melted, hot butter through the vent in the lid, one teaspoon at a time.
- Add the lemon juice and continue to beat for another 1-2 minutes. The mixture should thicken. Taste, and then add pepper and salt as desired.
- Transfer to a small bowl and cover until needed.
- Make the hollandaise sauce, as above. Meanwhile, bring 8 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar to a boil, in a wide saucepan.
- Stem the baby spinach. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan. Add the spinach, cover and cook until the spinach is wilted. About 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Drain any excess butter from the spinach and set aside, covered.
- In a frying pan, fry the bacon over medium heat. Turn the bacon once during cooking, until desired crispiness is achieved. For crisp brown bacon, this takes about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon from the frying pan and place on paper toweling to remove excess oil.
- To make the poached eggs, reduce the heat of the boiling water and allow the water to come to a simmer. Crack an egg into a small ramekin bowl. Have a metal spoon ready, and then slide the egg into the simmering water. Use the metal spoon to quickly scoop any stray egg white back toward the egg yolk. Poach the egg for about 3-4 minutes - the center will be runny but the outside with hold it's form.
- Repeat the process for the rest of the eggs - you will be able to fit about 2-3 eggs into the water at a time depending on the size of the saucepan. Once the eggs have cooked for 3-4 minutes, place them in a bowl of hot water from the tap. This will keep them warm until it's time to put the Eggs Florentine together.
- Split the muffins in half and toast either in a toaster or under the broiler.
- To serve, split the muffins in half and place cut side up on a plate. Top each muffin half with the spinach and bacon. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the poached egg from the water and place on the bacon. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of hollandaise sauce over each egg.
- Serve immediately, with excess hollandaise sauce on the side.
Homemade English Muffins
That egg looks just PERFECT! Gorgeous breakfast recipe 🙂
Thanks Becca. Using the ramekin dish has made all the difference in how they look!