Sweet Potato Eggs Benedict

Okay, I admit that I am a bit obsessive when it comes to benedicts. When I first tried making one, I couldn’t get it right so I tried again and again until I had mastered the art of the poached egg wonder. My poor (lucky?) husband ate eggs benedict several weekends in a row until I was finally was satisfied with the results. That was all great… and then I got bored and needed to add a twist.

This is definitely not a weekday breakfast since this endeavor takes a fair amount of time. Don’t be scared though – it is TOTALLY worth it! The sweet potato, chipotle, and lime flavors put a fresh spin on eggs benedict, creating a medley of flavors that will leave you satisfied and ready to kick off the day.

This recipe is easy to cut in half if you’re only trying to feed two, but the timing for poached eggs can be a challenge if you’re trying to feed any more than four.

For best results use fresh eggs and do the prep work (chopping, making sweet potato patties and sauce) before jumping into the rest of the cooking so that everything is done around the same time and reheating isn’t needed. I used brown rice in this recipe because I had some leftover, but I bet quinoa would be pretty good too. I know there are multiple steps, but it really is worth it!

Chipotle Sweet Potato Benedict

Servings: 4
Prep time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour total

 Ingredients:

Sweet Potato Patties
1 medium sweet potato
1 cup cooked brown rice
½ tsp. chipotle chili powder
¼ tsp. salt
Coconut oil

Mushroom/Veggie Sautee
1 small onion chopped or thinly sliced
2 minced garlic cloves
1 ½ cup sliced mushrooms
4 cups loosely packed spinach
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 avocado

Lime Chipotle Hollandaise Sauce
3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp. lime juice
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 cube (1/2 cup) butter, melted*

*For a lighter version, try following this hollandaise sauce recipe for yogurt based hollandaise and replacing the lemon with lime and adding chipotle powder!

Poached Eggs
8 eggs
2-4 cups water depending on pan size

Instructions:

1. Poke holes in the sweet potato with a fork. Wrap in a kitchen towel and microwave on high for 5-7 minutes until soft.
2. While sweet potato is in the microwave, make hollandaise sauce by combining all ingredients other than butter in a blender and pulse 30 seconds to a minute to mix. Drizzle butter into blender and pulse for another minute. Add more lime juice, salt, or chili powder to taste and a teaspoon of water to make sauce thinner if needed.
3. Remove sweet potato from microwave and let sit for several minutes to cool before handling. Mash and mix with pre-cooked rice, chili powder and salt. Form into 8 even sized patties that are about a half-inch thick and 2 inches across.
4. Add an inch and a half of water to a medium sized sauté pan and bring to a boil.
5. While water is coming to a boil, sauté onions for 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat until translucent but not brown. Add garlic and mushrooms and sauté for 3-5 more minutes until mushrooms are tender. Add spinach, salt, and pepper and sauté one minute longer to wilt spinach. Remove from heat and set aside.
6. Sliced avocado into 1/8 inch slices and use a spoon to remove from peel. Set aside.
7. Melt 1 tsp. of coconut oil on a frying pan and heat. Add sweet potato patties and cook 2-3 minutes per side until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
8. Once water has come to a boil, reduce heat so that water is slowly simmering. Crack an egg into a small cup or ramekin. Swirl simmering water with a slotted spoon and add gently add egg to water. Crack second egg into ramekin and add to simmering water. If the yolk is not submerged, cover saucepan with a lid. Simmer eggs for 3-4 minutes until whites are cooked and no longer transparent. Remove eggs one at a time from saucepan with a slotted spoon and set over a kitchen towel to soak up excess water. Repeat with remaining 6 eggs, cooking in batches of two.
9. Plate sweet potato patties, two per plate. Add avocado slices and mushroom/spinach sauté. Add poached eggs and top with hollandaise sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition per Serving
(Okay, so maybe this is a once in a blue moon recipe!)

Calories: 576
Carbs: 51.0 g
Fat: 38.9 g
Protein: 9.2  g
Sodium: 800 mg
Dietary fiber: 7.4 g
Sugar: 3.6 g