When I go to a restaurant for brunch, I want something good. Really good. There will be no yogurt parfaits at my brunch out. Those are relegated to weekday mornings (oh, and how I love those parfaits). Nope, when I go out on the town for brunch, there will be some sort of fatty meat involved, preferably bacon and some sunny yellow poached egg yolks sitting atop a golden brown English muffin. By the way, the fact that I refer to brunch at a restaurant as “going out on the town” should tell you how often we actually venture out of our house for meals. We spent a lifetime’s worth of “going out to eat” money when we lived in New York City. Seriously, between the monthly garage fee and our restaurant budget, it’s a wonder we had a place to live. Do I ever love New York City but, man, it is a penny-pincher’s worst nightmare.
So what is a Egg Benedict-loving person to do on all those non-restaurant brunch mornings? Learn to poach an egg, of course (see How to: Poach an Egg). I don’t typically have the inclination to whip up a lemony Hollandaise sauce on a lazy morning, so I found a way around this. Yummy sauces and spreads. I first experimented with egg-loving sauces when I made one of my favorite egg dishes, Poached Egg on Toast with Chipotle Mayonnaise, Bacon & Avocado. That smoky, spicy mayo gave my friend, Hollandaise, a run for its money. So, I started playing around with other options.
By smashing together black beans, olive oil, cumin, cilantro and a dash of salt and pepper, I came up with this spread that almost didn’t make it onto the English muffin. It kept trying to take a detour onto a fork…on the way to my mouth. Perched on top of that spread, some creamy slices of avocado and golden brown English muffin, those poached eggs didn’t look as though they missed their creamy, saucy sidekick in the least. And guess what? I didn’t either. The tastes touched every part of my tongue on the way down to my satisfied stomach.
When made with whole wheat English muffins and paired with tomato salsa, this dish is actually very healthy. If you are watching your cholesterol, consider eating just one of these. Fill up on additional fruit instead or eat the second half of the English muffin with all of the toppings, except the egg. Healthy fats come from the touch of olive oil in the spread and the avocado, and there’s a punch of protein from both the eggs and the black beans.
The best part? You can eat this without ever changing out of your pajamas.
The recipe:
In a medium bowl, combine black beans and olive oil. Mash with a fork until the black beans are crushed and the mixture starts to stick together.
Add ground cumin, salt, pepper and cilantro. Stir to combine.
Split English muffins in half crosswise and toast until golden brown. Place two halves on each of four plates. Divide the black bean mixture evenly between the English muffins and spread. Top with avocado slices.
Poach and drain eggs (See my post on How to: Poach an Egg. It’s easy. I promise.), set one on top of each prepared English muffin and garnish plate with dollops of salsa. Serve immediately.
Other recipes with poached eggs:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Poached Egg on Toast with Chipotle Mayonnaise, Bacon & Avocado
Closet Cooking’s Quinoa Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper & Walnut Pesto, Goat Cheese & Poached Egg
Southwestern Eggs Benedict with Black Bean Spread, Avocado & Salsa
From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com
Ingredients
- 1 cup black beans, rinsed & drained
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
- 2 tbsp minced cilantro
- 4 English muffins (preferably whole wheat)
- 8 large eggs
- 1 tsp vinegar (for poaching eggs)
- Pinch of salt (for poaching eggs)
- 1/2 cup salsa
Directions
- In a medium bowl, combine black beans and olive oil. Mash with a fork until the black beans are crushed and the mixture starts to stick together.
- Add ground cumin, salt, pepper and cilantro. Stir to combine.
- Split English muffins in half crosswise and toast until golden brown. Place two halves on each of four plates.
- Divide the black bean mixture evenly between the English muffins and spread. Top with avocado slices.
- Poach and drain eggs (see my post on How to: Poach an Egg), set one on top of each prepared English muffin and garnish plate with dollops of salsa.
- Serve immediately.
CouponClippingCook says
Jan 13, 2012 at 12:13 amWhat a great idea for breakfast. I know what you mean about wanting something more on the substantial side when having brunch. Love the idea of making this black bean spread on the english muffin. Sounds super delicious.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
Jan 13, 2012 at 5:26 amI really like this idea! I too like something REALLY good when I eat out for breakfast! You know, this meal would be a good dinner too!
Alex@Spoonful of Sugar Free says
Jan 13, 2012 at 6:24 amThis looks extremely good. I’ve never thought of using smashed black bean with eggs before-brilliant!
Elizabeth @ Chronic Venture says
Jan 13, 2012 at 8:42 amWhat a great twist on eggs benedict! Can’t wait to try this one out!
Emilie @ Emilie's Enjoyables says
Jan 13, 2012 at 9:13 amWow, this looks delicious! I know what I’m making on Sunday 🙂
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
Jan 13, 2012 at 9:25 amYumm 🙂 Eggs benedict is my brunch order without fail anytime we go out. It’s one of the few breakfast things I never make at home mostly because my poached eggs never come out as pretty. Going to read that post now 😉
Lisa [With Style and Grace] says
Jan 13, 2012 at 9:31 amThese look perfect! This is actually one of my all time favorites, it’s my total comfort meal.
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
Jan 13, 2012 at 10:14 amwow so pretty!
carolinaheartstrings says
Jan 13, 2012 at 11:04 amWhat wonderful pictures. This dish looks fantastic. Come visit. We have have some great features this week.
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
Jan 13, 2012 at 1:59 pmI really can’t wait to try this. This combines so many of my favorites into one really perfect package. Outstanding, Dara!
Sally says
Jan 13, 2012 at 2:00 pmA poached egg is a nearly perfect food, and especially great this time of year when most of us are trying to, ahem, re-set. I like the idea of this almost-huevos-rancheros, and think it would make a fine lunch, pared down to one portion for some of us work-at-home people. I’ve even been putting poached eggs on top of onion soup instead of cheese, to keep on track with my January eating plan. Happy New Year!
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
Jan 13, 2012 at 2:01 pmOh Dara that last picture makes me weak in the knees! Whoa!
Tara @ Chip Chip Hooray says
Jan 13, 2012 at 2:07 pm“Do I ever love New York City but, man, it is a penny-pincher’s worst nightmare.” — UH, AMEN.
Ahem. What I meant to say is, I love this take on Eggs Benedict–hollandaise and I don’t always get along, but I love me some southwestern flavors. I’ll definitely be trying this soon, for breakfast, lunch, OR dinner!
Mimi Avocado says
Jan 13, 2012 at 2:21 pmMy husband loves Eggs Benedict, and he is also an avocado farmer! What variety of avocado did you use? Our Fuerte avocados are perfect right now…or did you use Hass? I’ll be sharing this post on our Facebook page today: Facebook/Avocados_Direct. Thank you!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck) says
Jan 13, 2012 at 2:25 pmHi Mimi – An avocado farmer, huh? Now that sounds like an avocado lover’s dream! I used Hass avocados from California for this recipe because that’s what I could find in the store. I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for Fuerte avocados.
Maria says
Jan 13, 2012 at 2:24 pmWhat a hearty breakfast! Will have to try this one at our house.
Kristen says
Jan 13, 2012 at 2:44 pmThis breakfast has all of my absolute favorite things on it! Looks delicious!
Marla says
Jan 13, 2012 at 3:12 pmLove those oozy gooey eggs & I want your handsome red table!! Have a great weekend Dara!
patti says
Jan 13, 2012 at 5:17 pmI think you’ve outdone yourself this time. Going to save this to wow the girls at a girls weekend!
Maureen says
Jan 13, 2012 at 8:09 pmI love eggs benedict but this really ramps up the flavor! Yum.
sweetsugarbelle says
Jan 14, 2012 at 2:07 amOh heavens this calls my name
wasn’t. I love these flavors. We eat quite a bit of beans and salsa, so I even have the ingredients on hand!
Frank says
Jan 14, 2012 at 8:17 amI love when classic dishes get reinterpreted through the lens of another culinary tradition. The results are often fantastic—and this looks like one of those!
Beth says
Jan 14, 2012 at 8:34 amIs there anything better in this world than a perfectly poached egg? The benedict looks great, but I’m in LOVE with the plate its sitting on.
Roz@weightingfor50 says
Jan 14, 2012 at 11:43 amHi Dara. As always, your photos are spectacular. (love the square plate!!) This looks absolutely delicious, like many of your recipes, I’ve bookmarked it. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!
Shirley @ gfe says
Jan 14, 2012 at 1:12 pmI’m all for this recipe, Dara. I’m weak for Eggs Benedict in any form. 😉 Will use some gluten-free bread or a gluten-free English muffin. 🙂
Thanks!
Shirley
Miss @ Miss in the Kitchen says
Jan 15, 2012 at 5:44 pmWhat a hearty meal! I could eat that any time of day!
beti says
Jan 16, 2012 at 12:19 amsuch a complete dish and it looks pretty delicious
love cooking says
Jan 17, 2012 at 5:52 amThis is great. I love the poached eggs, when cut through the egg yolks and mix with other ingredients. Really is a great combination. I am wondering how the avocado taste when mix with all this ingredients. It must be delicious. 🙂
brandi says
Jan 17, 2012 at 9:23 amgoodness gracious, this looks good. i love making egg breakfasts with beans, avocado, and salsa anyway – but on an english muffin? yum.
Dana says
Jan 18, 2012 at 7:38 amIt’s no surprise that this sounds fantastic to me… my favorite breakfasts are always Mexican inspired. I will definitely be trying this out!
Deborah says
Jan 18, 2012 at 11:08 pmYou have this breakfast-food-loving girl drooling!
Becky at VintageMixer says
Jan 24, 2012 at 10:06 amI’m not huge on eggs in the morning but this looks amazing… plus I could eat it for dinner too right?!
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
Jan 30, 2012 at 4:13 pmThese would certainly make for a tasty breakfast!
bridget {bake at 350} says
Feb 27, 2012 at 7:29 amUm, yes please.
Tim says
Jan 25, 2014 at 10:50 amThis recipe is great. We make it all the time. I use a small food processor for the black beans, pulse a couple of times instead of mashing with a fork. I recently added this avocado hollandaise sauce, that pairs perfectly with this dish. Don’t worry it is a healthy hollandaise. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/avocado-hollandaise