Red Neck Eggs Benedict

When I ate at Elizabeth’s restaurant a few weeks back in New Orleans, I really enjoyed the duck waffle and praline bacon I had.  But I was let down by a dish I had there called red neck eggs benedict.  Ever since then I’ve been craving a properly made version of this dish, so here it is.  We’ve got a fried green tomato on the bottom, topped with a piece of thinly sliced black forest ham, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce.  It’s good stuff, and a nice change from the usual English muffin.  Here’s how to do it:

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/2 lb green tomatoes
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, whisked
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
olive oil
1/4 lb thinly sliced black forest ham
4 eggs
chopped parsley, for garnish
hollandaise sauce (I use Tyler Florence’s recipe)

Directions:
Slice the green tomatoes slightly larger than 1/4 inch thick, and set up the flour, egg, and panko in individual bowls.  Season both sides of each tomato slice with salt and pepper.  Heat up a skillet over medium high heat, and in the meantime, bread your green tomato slices by starting in the flour, then dipping in the egg, and dipping in the panko.  Make sure to shake the excess off during each step, that way the breading doesn’t fall off later on.  Once your pan is hot, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of your skillet, and fry the tomatoes for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Time to poach the eggs.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then reduce to a barely bubbling simmer. Crack the eggs into a large spoon, that way you can gently lower the eggs into the water.

Poach each egg for exactly 2 minutes.  Read my How to Properly Poach an Egg post if you haven’t poached eggs in a while.

To assemble the eggs benedict, place the fried green tomato on the bottom, fold up a piece of black forest ham and place it on top, then add the poached egg.  Spoon the hollandaise on top, and sprinkle with some parsley.  Enjoy!

Click here for the printable recipe.

Unrelated note to other wordpress users or ridiculously smart computer people: When I used to comment on other people’s blogs, I used to get an email notification whenever the owner of that blog replied to my comment.  That stopped happening a long time ago, and I’m not sure why.  If anyone has any clues, please let me know!!!  Thank you!