Barbacoa Eggs Benedict with Chimichurri Hollandaise

Juli at Paleomg.com want you to know where this benedict was inspired from. This benedict was inspired by one I had at Bacon Social House in Denver called the Costa Rica Benedict. They have a ton of paleo and gluten free options. But since this benedict in particular wasn’t gluten free, they said that they could swap our greens or polenta cake instead. So I’ve tried both of course. And honestly, I liked the greens even better. Anywho, the benedict is made with pork belly, pineapple salsa and chipotle hollandaise.

Wait, there’s one last thing you should know about this benedict. I’m giving you this recipe on a Thursday because I want you to be able to enjoy it this weekend for brunch. That being said, it has a couple steps to it that can be a bit time consuming. BUT if you make the chimichurri, the salsa and the barbacoa a day ahead, they still will be as fresh as can be and you won’t have to dirty up more dishes or drive yourself crazy with all the steps. So do those two things ahead of time. OK!? Ok. And because I love you guys so much and I’m excited about the New Year, I’m sharing both my recipe for hollandaise AND chimichurri from Juli Bauer’s Paleo Cookbook in this recipe!

Serves: 3

Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 35 min

INGREDIENTS

For the chimichurri (make the day before)

• 1 packed cup fresh cilantro
• 1 packed cup fresh parsley
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ medium white onion, minced
• juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• For the pineapple jicama salsa (make the day before)
• ⅓ cup cubed pineapple
• ¼ cup cubed jicama
• ½ jalapeno, minced
• ¼ red onion, minced
• ¼ cup cilantro, minced
• juice of 1 lime
• pinch of salt

PaleOMG Barbacoa (put in crockpot overnight)

For the hollandaise

• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• dash of black pepper
• dash of paprika
• up to ½ cup melted butter or ghee

For the benedict

• 6 pieces of bacon
• 2 bundles of collard greens or rainbow kale (they will cook down a ton), roughly chopped
• salt, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste
• 6 eggs eggs
• cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. For the chimichurri: place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Cover and place in fridge.
2. For the salsa: place all ingredients in a bowl and toss. Cover and place in fridge.
3. Follow instructions for barbacoa.
4. Once barbacoa is done cooking, make the hollandaise: place the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and paprika in a blender and blend until well combined and smooth. Turn the blender to medium-low speed. Slowly pour in the melted butter and let the hollandaise thicken to your preferred consistency. The less time you blend and the less butter you add, the thinner the hollandaise will be. If you prefer a thicker hollandaise, blend longer and keep adding melted butter. Set aside.
5. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
6. Cook bacon over medium heat in a large pan until crispy. Set aside. Remove excess bacon fat, leaving behind 2 tablespoon in the pan. Add collard greens and toss with salt and garlic powder. Cook until soft and tender.
7. Lastly, to make the poaches eggs: Once pot is boiling, break each egg into a small cup, transfer it to a wire mesh strainer, swirl it around to get rid of the excess whites, and then return it to the cup. Use a wooden spatula to swirl the water in a circle until the water is moving quickly. Slowly ease each egg into the pot, spacing them evenly. The eggs should continuously swirl and cook through, but feel free to continue to swirl the water a bit. After about 2- 3 minutes, the whites should be fully set with the yolks still tender. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out each poached egg.
8. Now to build the eggs benedict: place down greens, top with a piece of bacon cut in half, then add a hearty scoop of barbacoa on top along with a poached egg. Mix about 2 tablespoons of chimichurri into the hollandaise then pour on top of the poached egg along with the salsa on top. Garnish with a bit of cilantro!

Recipe by: Juli at Paleomg.com