Blissful Eggs Benedict with Goat Cheese, Zucchini, Spinach and Tomato-Tarragon Salsa
There’s nothing like a delicious brunch any day of the week. I’m a big fan of poached eggs. A gorgeous sunny golden yolk oozing out of a white cocoon, flowing over an English muffin with Canadian bacon is what I like most. For me, rich hollandaise sauce is a a creamy crown on this delicious brunch staple. Unfortunately, according to my calorie counter book a typical serving has a whopping 860 calories and 56 grams of saturated fat! My waistline can’t take it these days, so I had to come up with an alternative because I look forward to poached eggs on the weekends. I had to figure out a way to get most of what I love about my calorie-bloated favorite but substantially reduce the saturated fat and calories.
Now, I’m not saying I’ll never have the traditional version again, I’m just saying having an alternative gives me an option for satisfy my craving. In case you were wondering how much lower my version is, two eggs have 140 calories and 8 grams of fat; 1 ounce goat cheese has 70 calories and 3.5 grams of fat; and 1 teaspoon of olive oil has 45 calories and 5 grams of fat. That’s 39.5 grams of fat lower than the traditional version!
Thus, Blissful Eggs Benedict was born. She’s the lower fat, lower calorie distant cousin of classical Eggs Benedict and she’s delicious! You can use an English muffin or any baguette style toasted bread for the base. A smear of soft goat cheese gives me the creamy texture and tang from hollandaise, a bit of extra white vinegar in the poaching liquid gives some acidic flavor, and sautéed vegetables boots the nutrtional value. Finally, a topping of quick tomato-tarragon salsa brings all the flavors together. Honestly, I didn’t miss the hollandaise but let me if you did.
Blissful Eggs Benedict
2 whole omega-3 or large AA eggs poached (add an additional teaspoon of vinegar in the poaching liquid)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Nonstick spray
2 medium zucchini (each sliced lenghtwise into three slices each)
2-3 cups washed spinach
1 whole clove of garlic sliced in half
1 cup baby tomatoes
Fresh tarragon
1 inch slice of red onion
1 toasted English muffin or two one-inch slices of toasted sweet baguette
1 ounce soft goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Salt and pepper both sides of the zucchini slices. Heat a medium size sauté pan with nonstick spary and one teaspoon olive oil. Cook the zucchini on both sides until brown and tender then remove from pan. If necessary, add more nonstick spray and add garlic, spinach, salt and pepper to taste. Sauté spinach for 3-5 minutes until cooked. Turn off heat and move the spinach to one side of the pan and add zucchini to the other side. This allows you to quickly reheat the vegetables before assembling the dish.
Poach eggs using these instructions and set aside. Put tomatoes, red onion, salt to taste and tarragon in a small food processor or blender. Blend until you get the consistency you like. Poach the eggs according to these instructions and set aside.
Toast muffins or bread and smear with goat cheese while still warm. Reheat vegetables for one minute then place two slices of zucchini trimed to fit the bread. Add spinach, then poached eggs. Garnish with tomato-tarragon salsa.
Makes one main course serving (salsa will be enough for two servings)
Chef’s tip: if your tomatoes are very juicy and you have too much liquid in the salsa, drain off the excess.
