Gluten Free Eggs Benedict with Prosciutto & Spinach English Muffins

As soon as I put the knife and fork down, I wanted another go. You know when food's so good that you just want to keep eating it and eating it?

In the world of food writing, something with those qualities would be considered moreish. That's exactly what you have here.

Eggs Benedict is one of my favorite things to order at a restaurant and after having some seriously good offerings, I wasn't entirely convinced I could do the dish justice.

After stumbling across an intriguing recipe for spinach English muffins, I decided to give it to go. Caution to the wind, I organized all of my ingredients on the countertop, cranked up the iPod and set to work recreating this classic brunch dish one rainy Sunday morning.
groceries...

For the spinach English muffins:

30g butter
2tsp sugar
300ml whole milk
1tsp dried yeast
250g spinach
1tsp nutmeg
450g gluten free strong white flour
Pinch of sea salt
just a bit of Semolina

For the hollandaise sauce:

250g unsalted butter
1tsp white wine vinegar
2 egg yolks
salt and pepper
few drops lemon juice

For the poached eggs:

1tbsp white wine vinegar
4 eggs
2 slices of prosciutto

alright, let's cook:

For the spinach English muffins, activate the yeast by steeping it in water as directed on the packet. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes. Melt the butter in a saucepan, adding the sugar just as it begins to soften. Stir in the yeast (it should be frothy), and a bit of nutmeg. Add the spinach and allow to gently wilt.

Pour the flour and sea salt into a food processor. Pour over the yeasty, spinach mixture and mix until a soft dough forms. The dough should come away from the sides of the food processor cleanly. Depending on the size of your processor, you may need to do this step in two batches.

Remove the dough ball from the processor and place into a bowl covered with cling film. Leave to rest and rise for about half an hour. Once the dough has risen, dust your countertop with a little Semolina and, using your hands, stretch the dough out. Sprinkle the dough with more Semolina and cut into rounds. Heat a dry, non-stick frying pan until very hot and brown the muffins on each side for about five minutes.

For the hollandaise sauce, gently melt butter in a saucepan and set aside. Next, whisk the egg yolks and vinegar in a bain marie (a bowl set over the top of a pot of boiling water) along with a pinch of salt. Continue whisking the yolks until they have thickened.

Reduce the heat so that the rolling boil slows to a simmer while continuing to whisk the egg yolks. Slowly, drizzle in the butter, whisking all the while. Once all the butter has been whisked in, you should have a sauce the consistency of mayonnaise. Add a bit of lemon juice, if necessary, to thin the sauce. Keep warm.

For the poached eggs, bring a large stockpot of water to a rolling boil. Add a the white wine vinegar and crack the eggs, one at a time, into the water to poach. If it helps, you can swirl the water to create a whirlpool effect, which will help keep the white together. Either way, it should take about 2 minutes for the eggs to poach.

To assemble, top each vibrantly green muffin with half a slice of prosciutto and a poached egg. Dress in a coat of thick, golden sauce and finish off with a good sprinkle of black pepper.

nutrition...

Servings: 4




Amount Per Serving

Calories		1,053.1

Total Fat		68.9 g

	Saturated Fat	39.4 g

	Polyunsaturated Fat	3.6 g

	Monounsaturated Fat	19.2 g

Cholesterol		445.4 mg

Sodium		218.5 mg

Potassium		467.8 mg

Total Carbohydrate		84.5 g

	Dietary Fiber	5.3 g

	Sugars	5.3 g

Protein		27.6 g

Vitamin A	168.6 %

Vitamin B-12	12.3 %

Vitamin B-6	11.7 %

Vitamin C	29.3 %

Vitamin D	19.5 %

Vitamin E	12.8 %

Calcium	18.5 %

Copper	5.2 %

Folate	40.0 %

Iron	15.3 %

Magnesium	13.0 %

Manganese	29.2 %

Niacin	2.5 %

Pantothenic Acid	3.7 %

Phosphorus	18.0 %

Riboflavin	21.0 %

Selenium	8.6 %

Thiamin	4.6 %

Zinc	7.8 %