Serve up Southwestern Eggs Benedict at your next Sunday brunch. A fantastic option when you want to lighten up a classic recipe.
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
Printable Recipe
Southwestern Eggs Benedict
Ingredients
- 1 cup black beans rinsed & drained
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- pinch of salt
- pinch of pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
- 4 English muffins preferably whole wheat
- 8 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vinegar for poaching eggs
- pinch of salt for poaching eggs
- ½ cup salsa
Instructions
- 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.
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme
I really can't wait to try this. This combines so many of my favorites into one really perfect package. Outstanding, Dara!
carolinaheartstrings
What wonderful pictures. This dish looks fantastic. Come visit. We have have some great features this week.
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc.
wow so pretty!
Lisa [With Style and Grace]
These look perfect! This is actually one of my all time favorites, it's my total comfort meal.
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
Yumm 🙂 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 😉
Emilie @ Emilie's Enjoyables
Wow, this looks delicious! I know what I'm making on Sunday 🙂
Elizabeth @ Chronic Venture
What a great twist on eggs benedict! Can't wait to try this one out!
Alex@Spoonful of Sugar Free
This looks extremely good. I've never thought of using smashed black bean with eggs before-brilliant!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
I 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!
CouponClippingCook
What 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.