Sometimes I look at a cookbook like A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones and think, “God, who eats like this on a regular basis?” (No, hipster rooftop-gardening vegans who make nut milk on the weekends don’t count.) I’m talking super healthy options like cashew and chestnut sausages; cilantro and orange-scented buckwheat; or mint, pistachio and zucchini balls. I’ve tried my fair share of “good-for-you” recipes, and I always feel baited. They tell me it tastes good, but more often than not, those recipes fall flat.
However, I’ve recently tried to focus on my fitness, so I figured I probably should eat clean – at least until I can’t stand it any longer. A Modern Way to Eat has lots of pretty pictures of food, and though you don’t see any faces, I can just imagine how fabulously young and dewy their faces look from all the greens they’re eating.
I have a thing for brunch, particularly eggs Benedict, so I decided to try Jones’ version. Her New Eggs Benedict swaps a sweet potato for the English muffin and an avocado-cashew sauce for luscious buttery hollandaise. At least I got to keep the poached egg.
I admit, this was actually pretty delicious. The sweet potato rounds, roasted with oil, salt and pepper, were a nice base, and the sauteed onions gave a necessary savory burst. The greens added an earthy bite, but the hollandaise was the most surprising finish. I thinned it with quite a bit of water in order to pour it, but the cashews and avocado still provided that buttery richness necessary on a Benedict. It’s hard to make healthy food both crave-able and filling, but this dish was indeed satisfying and, as promised, I felt amazing after eating it.
A New Eggs Benedict 4 servings
2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into 3/8-inch rounds
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive or grapeseed oil
2 medium red onions, peeled and finely sliced
6 handfuls spinach, with any big stalks removed
4 organic or free-range eggs
For the quick hollandaise: A small handful cashew nuts, soaked* in water
½ an avocado
A small bunch fresh tarragon or dill, leaves picked
Juice of ½ a lime
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Lay the sweet potato slices on a couple of baking trays, season with salt and pepper, drizzle lightly with oil, and roast for 20 minutes until soft throughout and crisping at the edges.
• Now on to the onions. Put a pan over medium heat, add a little oil, and then add the onions and a pinch of salt. Fry for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onions are soft and sweet and starting to brown. Scoop them into a bowl and set aside, keeping the pan to use later.
• To make your hollandaise, grind the drained cashews in a food processor until you have a crumbly paste. Add the avocado and most of the tarragon or dill with the lime juice and a good pinch of salt and pepper and blend again. If you need to, thin the sauce with a little water until it is thick but pourable.
• Heat the pan you cooked the onions in over medium heat. Add the spinach and a drop of olive oil and cook for a couple of minutes until it starts to wilt but is still vivid green.
• Next, poach the eggs. Heat a pan of water until boiling – I use a frying pan, but use whatever pan is most comfortable for you for poaching eggs. Turn the heat down until the water is barely bubbling, then crack in the eggs and leave them to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and drain on some paper towels.
• To serve, lay some of the sweet potatoes in the middle of each plate. Top with the onions and wilted spinach, then add the egg and a spoonful of hollandaise. Scatter over the rest of the tarragon or dill, season with salt and pepper, and dig in.
* Soak the cashew nuts in water overnight, but if you forget, half an hour’s soaking will do. Other ways to use your quick avocado hollandaise:
Spoon over grilled asparagus.
On top of a green spring risotto.
Next to a simple poached egg on toast.
In sandwiches in place of mayonnaise.
Reprinted with permission from 10 Speed Press Eggs Benedict has come a long way from the traditional English muffin, ham, egg and hollandaise. The variations on this brunch classic are endless. What’s your go-to nontraditional Benedict and why? Tell us in the comments below for a chance to win a copy of A Modern Way to Eat. Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to include the correct amount of avocado in the recipe.
This article appears in April 2015.
