Orange Eggs Benedict

appleydapply's Note:

This dish is truly spectacular, perfect for a birthday, anniversary, Mother's Day, or any other special brunch occasion. My hubby discovered it in The New Basics Cookbook by Rosso & Lukins a few years ago. He had forgotten to get reservations at my favorite restaurant for Mother's Day brunch so he made this instead. It was better than my favorite restaurant! The original recipe says it serves 4. But it is very rich and it's enough food for 8 if you're serving with a side of fresh fruit. That cuts the calories and fat in half.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Orange scones

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, chilled
• 1 egg, lightly beten
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest

Orange Hollandaise

• 2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (no substitutions, must be fresh squeezed)
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (if you must use salted butter...do NOT add this salt)

To assemble

• 8 slices Canadian bacon
• 8 eggs
• fresh mint (for garnish)

Directions:

1. For the scones:.
2. Preheat oven to 425.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, work in the butter until the mixture is coarse crumbs. Mix in the lightly beaten egg, and then the half-and-half and orange zest.
4. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth, 1-2 minutes.
5. Roll the dough out to form a square shape of approximately 5-6 inches - it should be a 3/4 inch thickness. Cut out the square into quarters; you'll have 4 square-shaped scones of approximately 2 1/2-3 inches. Place on a baking sheet, and bake in the oven on the center rack until lightly golden, 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool. The scones can be made the day before and kept tightly wrapped, to make assembly easier in the morning.
6. Orange hollandaise sauce:.
7. In a medium saucepan, bring the orange juice to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes. It should reduce to about 1/4 cup of syrup. Set aside.
8. Here's where it's helpful to have a helper so that you can make the hollandaise sauce at the same time you are getting the other ingredients assembled. If you don't have anyone to help you, continue with step 11. Once your scones, bacon, and eggs are plated, it will just take a couple of minutes to come back to step 9 and finish the sauce.
9. In another small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until bubbling.
10. Place the egg yolks in a food processor and process for a few seconds. With the motor running, add the reduced orange juice and salt (if using). Then slowly add the butter in a thin stream. Process for a few more seconds, until it thickens. Serve immediately.
11. To assemble:.
12. Saute the Canadian bacon in a non-stick skillet until slightly crisp. Set aside on a plate.
13. Slice the scones in half, and toast them lightly. Place 2 scone halves on each serving plate.Fill two nonstick skillets with water and bring them to a simmer. Carefully break an egg into a custard cup, and slide it into the simmering water. Repeat with the remaining eggs, one at a time. Cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes, and use a slotted spoon to transfer the eggs to a dish for a few moments for excess water to drain off.
14. On your serving plates, top each scone half with a slice of Canadian bacon, then a poached egg. Top with the orange hollandaise sauce. Garnish with fresh mint, if desired.

Reviews

[MarraMamba]

Made these for a friends birthday lunch and they were a big hit. Not hard to make at all

[weekend cooker]

Great breakfast for us today,I did cut the recipe in half for 2 of us, since kids are at school. The orange flavor was great, and enjoyed. I did go down to an 1/8 teaspoon of salt. All in all a great meal. Made for 1-2-3 hits.

[KateL]

Loved this sauce, it was surprizingly light and the orange flavor was refreshing; 1/2 recipe produced 2 cups of sauce, and we used only enough to accent. The scones were okay, we enjoyed the orangey flavor, but these did not convert us to scone-lovers; next time this non-baker will use English muffins and spread a thin layer of orange marmalade on top before placing the grilled Canadian bacon on top. I cheated on the poached eggs by using a 4-egg nonstick insert in my 12-inch skillet; that ensured a predictable size and eliminated the need to drain the eggs. Yes, I prefer poached eggs done as appleydapply described when the water drainage is not a concern. I transferred the simmering orange juice (and then the melted butter) to a 2-cup measure with a spout to ensure that all went into my 2-cup food processor instead of the kitchen counter. This Hollandaise worked much better for me than the last one I attempted, so I will use these instructions next time. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Appleydapply! Made for Top Favorites of 2008 Tag as a TOP prize for tagging out Starrynews when she became FROG #7.