The classic flavors of eggs Benedict served on grilled portabello mushroom topped with smoked bacon, dressed with a silky blender Hollandaise and perfectly poached egg. An ideal weekend breakfast or brunch option without the gluten!

Yield 2 servings

Gluten Free Eggs Benedict with Easiest Blender Hollandaise Served on Grilled Portabello 

Earlier this week, I woke up craving a cooked breakfast. Manchester had been experiencing its usual weather: torrential rain and the idea of bundling up Callum and whisking him off during the downpour to go to our favorite weekend breakfast haunt was unappealing. Instead, I decided to revisit one of my favorite breakfasts. A few years ago I made Eggs Benedict with Prosciutto on Spinach English Muffins and that was seriously the most amazing and delicious dish to come out of my kitchen in a long time. With my Coeliac Disease diagnosis, I find myself still craving those types of dishes and I wanted to give myself (and others with Coeliac Disease or a gluten intolerance) an opportunity to enjoy some of those classic, gluten laced dishes. So the idea of redoing eggs Benedict and making it coeliac friendly and gluten free fueled the inspiration for this recipe.

I also wanted to try making Hollandaise in the blender because sauces are wishy washy temperamental beasts and they're not always easy to handle. Plus, you post a recipe for a sauce and you can really divide the crowd! So many people are afraid of sauces, but I love them and want to show you guys how they really elevate a dish. Don't be afraid of this Hollandaise, you can't really mess it up, not if you follow my instructions to the letter. I will say that even with a proper emulsion, blender Hollandaise doesn't always turn out as thick its traditional twin, but there's no since splitting hairs about it. It's just as good and it gets the job done.

Growing up, the weekends were made for eating breakfast. Either on Saturday or Sunday mornings, I'd wake to the sounds and scents of breakfast being made by one of my parents. My mother would make fat, plate-sized pancakes doused with butter and the super sweet thick Alabama Alaga syrup from her childhood. My father would stick to breakfasts loaded with protein and whip up pans of perfectly cooked scrambled eggs with bacon or sausage. Or if he was feeling particularly swish, thickly cut steaks served beneath a mountain of scrambled eggs speckled with black pepper.

As a result, as soon as the weekend rolls around, I start craving big, cooked breakfasts. Breakfasts that are big enough to fill you and keep you full through to the late afternoon. This penchant for breakfasting has stuck with me for all of my life, through two degrees and two international moves and dozens of international trips: no matter where I am in the world, I seek out a good cooked breakfast. I have been known to judge a country based on what it offers up at its breakfast table. And don't even get me started on my obsession with B&Bs.

Ingredients:

For the poached egg
2 fresh eggs, large
2 tsp rice vinegar

For the Hollandaise
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar (or rice vinegar)
1 tbsp hot water*
3 egg yolks, medium (2 if using large eggs)
10 tbsp/150g unsalted butter

To serve
2 large portabello mushrooms
6 slices lean smoked bacon
salt
lemon pepper

**Notes**

• I usually just dip a tablespoon into the egg cooking water and add this to my Hollandaise.
• Food standard agencies the world over agree that it is best not to serve softly cooked eggs to pregnant women, young children and the elderly.

Instructions:

Gluten Free Eggs Benedict with Easiest Blender Hollandaise Served on Grilled Portabello

1. Preheat the grill/broiler to high. Arrange the bacon and the mushrooms, skin side down, on the grill pan. Drizzle the mushrooms with just a little oil and season with salt. Grill for 8 to 10 minutes, turning everything over halfway through.
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add 2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar to the water and slightly reduce the heat. The addition of the vinegar will stop the water from boiling and knock it back down to a simmer.
3. Add the eggs to the saucepan carefully. Crack each egg into a small bowl one at a time and slip it gently into the simmering water and vinegar. Use a spoon to push the whites together so that the poached egg stays tidy. Repeat with the second egg. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and allow the eggs to cook using the residual heat. Leave the eggs covered for 3 minutes for runny yolks, 5 minutes for soft set yolks and longer if you want the yolks cooked completely. Once the eggs have cooked to your desired doneness, remove them from the water and set aside.
4. Melt the butter until frothy in a small microwaveable dish on medium heat for about 45 seconds. Add the remaining egg yolks to the blender along with the water, salt and vinegar. Set the blender to medium, or if your blender only has two settings, to the lowest setting. Blend for about 30 seconds until the yolks are lighter in color.
5. Drizzle the melted butter slowly, so so so slowly in a thin, steady stream, into the blender while it is still whirring on the lowest or medium setting. Continue to allow the blender to whir for a few seconds after all the butter has been added so that it can fully emulsify. Add the lemon juice just before switching off the blender.
6. Put the mushrooms skin side down and top with bacon followed by the poached eggs. Serve with the Hollandaise poured over and top with a good pinch of salt and a fair sprinkling of lemon pepper.