Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Mother’s Day is a little over a week away, but I wanted to have a Mother’s Day blog hop today in order to give plenty of time for menu planning and inspiration. Back home Mother’s Day is usually one of my favorite days of the year. Usually my mom, sister, and I use it as an excuse for a girls’ day out. We go to the zoo or botanic gardens, get mani-pedis or enjoy a leisurely brunch, stroll through a museum or go shopping (and yes, we’ve done all of those things on Mother’s Days past).

Living so far from home I have to wait until summertime to enjoy those days with my family, but on Mother’s Day I’ll be thinking about my momma nonetheless. Have I mentioned that she’s the coolest? She has an educational blog of her own and has co-authored a book for teachers that will be out in August. Talk about an amazing role model.

If I was home, I’d want to make my mom one of the recipes from my e-cookbook, Puff Pastry at Brunch: 10 Sweet and Savory Recipes to Start Your Day. {Shameless plug: if you haven’t purchased a copy it’s only $2.99 and has 10 great brunch recipes plus tips and more! Also, it would make a most excellent Mother’s Day gift…)

I’ve already shared my recipe for Hollandaise Sauce, so the rest of the recipe is fairly simple. Don’t be afraid of poaching eggs – it’s really quite simple once you get the hang of it! I used to use a drop of vinegar in the water, but have stopped since I find I make perfectly good poached eggs without it. The most important things I have learned is to keep the water shallow, just deep enough to cover the egg completely, and to make sure the water is lightly simmering but not boiling.

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Serving Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon instead of the traditional Canadian bacon makes it an even more special dish, sometimes called Eggs Norwegian. Here the typical English muffin base is replaced with baked puff pastry circles. Although you wouldn’t expect such a small change to make a difference, the rich, flaky puff pastry transforms this into an even more decadent and celebratory meal.

Ingredients 

• 14 ounces frozen puff pastry, defrosted 
• 8 eggs 
• 6 ounces smoked salmon 
• Hollandaise sauce 
• Finely chopped parsley or chives 

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Unroll the puff pastry (it should be about1/4-inch thick). Using a cookie cutter or large glass, cut out 8 (4-inch) circles. If you don’t have room for all 8 circles at once, roll up the extra puff pastry scraps in a ball and roll out to ¼-inch thick and cut out the remaining circles. Transfer the pastry circles to the prepared baking sheet. 
3. Put in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside. 
4. Meanwhile, poach the eggs. Fill a small pot or shallow pan with 3 inches or so of water. Heat over medium heat until just simmering (not boiling). From just above the surface, crack an egg into the water (you can cook multiple at a time depending on the size of your pot or pan). 
5. Poach for about 3 minutes, or until the eggs are set. Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs from the water and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining eggs. 
6. Put two puff pastry disks on each of four plates. Top with smoked salmon, then one poached egg per disk. Drizzle hollandaise sauce over and garnish with chopped parsley or chives. Serve immediately. 

more recipes @ http://www.katherinemartinelli.com