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.
sweetsugarbelle
Oh 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!
Maureen
I love eggs benedict but this really ramps up the flavor! Yum.
patti
I think you've outdone yourself this time. Going to save this to wow the girls at a girls weekend!
Marla
Love those oozy gooey eggs & I want your handsome red table!! Have a great weekend Dara!
Kristen
This breakfast has all of my absolute favorite things on it! Looks delicious!
Maria
What a hearty breakfast! Will have to try this one at our house.
Mimi Avocado
My 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)
Hi 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.
Tara @ Chip Chip Hooray
"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!
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen
Oh Dara that last picture makes me weak in the knees! Whoa!
Sally
A 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!