Eggs Benedict (including nut-free Paleo English muffins!! and dairy-free Hollandaise Sauce!!!)

I am so honored to be the US Wellness Meats’ Featured Chef for August, 2014!!! I have been a huge fan of US Wellness Meats for almost as long as I have eaten a Paleo diet!  They really know animal welfare and meat quality, two things that definitely go hand-in-hand.  Inspired by this honor, I developed two exciting new recipes to be featured on US Wellness Meats’ website this month along with sharing two of my favorite recipes from The Paleo Approach Cookbook which featured their products.  Go see the original posting of this recipe in US Wellness Meats‘ Featured Chef post here. And make sure to check out my interview with US Wellness Meats here.

This recipe also won Paleo Magazines Best of 2014 Reader’s Choice award in the Best Blog Recipe:  Culinary Recreation category!!!!!!

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Grain-free, dairy-free, nut-free and coconut-free Eggs Benedict?! Yes, please! This is an absolutely decadent breakfast or brunch!  And this recipe is a 3-for-1.  You get a recipe for nut-free English muffins, AND a recipe for dairy-free Hollandaise sauce, AND for the Eggs Benedict themselves!

The first step to creating this recipe was to develop a Paleo-friendly English muffin recipe.  There are lots of versions of 3-minute microwave Paleo English muffin recipes out there, but I’ve been wanting to create a yeast-based and nut-free one for a while.  There’s two reasons for this.  First, I feel like the flavor of yeast-risen breads (yes, I’m talking about grain-free breads) is just so much better (and you might be interested in my post Is Yeast Paleo? and you might also be interested in some of my other bread recipes).  Second, we just don’t eat very many nuts any more due to the caloric density and high omega-6 polyunsaturated fat intake of most nuts.  So, I always like to make my first attempts at Paleo baked goods nut-free.

This English muffin recipe actually use a traditional technique, combining the rising power of both Baker’s yeast and baking soda to get more of those great little holes.  The greener the plantain you use, the better these turn out.  I have made these both in a muffin top pan and with English muffin rings on a baking sheet.  Both work well.

This dairy-free Hollandaise sauce uses the traditional technique but with lard instead of butter. Feel free to substitute grass-fed butter if you include dairy in your diet.  Ghee is also a great option.   And many people who are sensitive to casein are still able to eat cultured grass-fed ghee (Pure Indian Foods tests every batch for casein and even my supersensitive daughter is able to eat it!).  Hollandaise sauce is best served immediately after making it.  If you have leftover, keep it in a jar the fridge and then gently warm by placing the jar in warm water for about 10 minutes before serving.  By the way, Hollandaise sauce tastes great on just about everything.  Once you taste it, you’ll want to pour it on everything.

Ingredients (English Muffins):

• 1 large green plantain (about 1 cup once pureed) (learn more about green plantains in this video from my YouTube channel)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

1. Peel the plantain and give it a rough chop. Place it in a blender with the egg, yeast, avocado oil and salt (if your blender has a small jar, you’ll want to use that). Blend on high until a completely smooth puree forms.
2. Pour the batter into a bowl and let it sit in a warm corner to rise for 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner. Place four English muffin rings on the parchment. Lightly grease the inside of the English muffin rings with lard, coconut oil or avocado oil. (Alternatively, you can grease four wells of a muffin top pan.) Preheat the oven to 425F.
4. Add baking soda to batter and whisk by hand just to combine. Spoon batter into the prepared English muffin rings, dividing equally.
5. Bake for 12 minutes, until browned on top. Allow to cool slightly before popping out of the rings.

Ingredients (Dairy-Free Hollandaise Sauce):

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons of lard (1 tablespoon cold and 3 tablespoons melted; or substitute ghee or butter)

1. Combine egg yolk, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of cold lard in a small saucepot. Mix together vigorously.
2. Then place the saucepot on the stovetop over low heat (if you have an electric range, preheat your burner). Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes, just until the lard is melting and the mixture is thinning out.
3. Very slowly dribble in the melted lard, mixing constantly. It should take you 1-2 minutes to add the 3 tablespoonfuls.
4. Remove from heat immediate and continue to stir for another minutes. Serve immediately.

Ingredients (Eggs Benedict):

• 4 eggs
• 4 slices Canadian bacon
• ½ batch English muffins (see above)
• 1 batch Hollandaise sauce (see above)

1. Poach your eggs using a poaching insert. Gently grease the insert with lard or coconut oil. Crack the eggs into the wells of the poaching insert (you can also use individual silicone egg poachers). Bring water to a boil in lidded skillet. Add the poaching insert to the water. Cover and cook for 6 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, warm the slices of Canadian bacon by placing in a skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes per side. Gently cut down the middle of two English muffins and toast the halves in a toaster, toaster oven, or under the broiler.
3. To assemble each Eggs Benedict, place a toasted English muffin halve cut-side up on your plate. Layer one slice of Canadian bacon over top. Gently transfer one poached egg onto the top of the Canadian bacon. Then pour a few spoonfuls of Hollandaise over the whole thing. Enjoy!