My childhood memories of Easter holidays include fancy flower dresses that I was so excited to wear even though it was always still a bit cold, baskets filled with chocolates hidden among green plastic grass, and brunch with my family. When I was a little kid my family and I used to go to a hotel in downtown Baltimore to eat. In my memory, the place was huge with people and buffet lines on multiple floors. I remember it feeling like such a party and it was so exciting that I could eat all kinds of different foods at the same time.
From one of those occasions there’s a picture of me and my brother Eric standing next to the Easter Bunny giving him the side eye. We’re looking at him with a mixture of fear (because he’s a stranger and a giant rabbit) and respect (because earlier he had brought us a basket of candy). It’s a hilarious picture and one day if I find it I’ll post it here to show you. Anyway, I liked going to brunch with my family. And I like that brunch is a part of my Easter celebration memories. Most holidays are all about big roasted dinners and I like that breakfast gets its chance to be fancy.
One of the brunch foods I love is Eggs Benedict. Well, not Eggs Benedict because I don’t eat ham, but Eggs Royale. Eggs Royale substitutes smoked salmon for the ham and it is delicious. But, regardless of the meat there is just something about the presentation of fluffy poached eggs smothered in hollandaise sauce that feels special. It’s one of those dishes that gives me a thrill when I can see a server coming over with my order and it’s a dish that I can’t wait to eat.
My mind was set on making standard Eggs Royale for Easter brunch – that is, until inspiration struck. Last last week Ryan and I went to a new place in our neighborhood called the Barn and I had an awesome breakfast. I had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon with avocado and crushed red peppers. It was creamy with a little spice at the same time. It was an interesting combination of flavors, but using really familiar and easy to access ingredients. I decided I should turn this dish into our Easter Brunch. So here it is, a new twist on a recipe, Eggs Royale with avocado.
Part of what defines Eggs Royale (or Eggs Benedict) is the hollandaise sauce on top. Hollandaise is is an emulsion of butter and egg yolks. You can definitely buy hollandaise sauce from the super market, but it will be sweeter and tarter than if you make it on your own. Even so, I was feeling intimidated about making it by hand. And Julia Child even said I should learn to make it the traditional way. But, then I also found her recipe for making it quickly in a blender and I was less nervous. She literally says an 8 year-old could do it. Also, in a blind taste test Ryan preferred the homemade version over the store bought. So try making it for yourself because people will notice.
Messy level: This recipe is really all about the prep. There’s some amount of chopping, toasting, blending, and egg cracking – all of which leads to dishes or using some appliances. It’s not terrible and you shouldn’t have a horrible mess, but be warned you should be organized to keep your kitchen neat.
Inspiration from the Barn, hollandaise sauce recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1, and the poached egg method is from an earlier Cooking is Messy post.
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- pinch of pepper
- 4 oz butter
- water
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon vinegar
- 2 English Muffins
- 8 slices smoked salmon (or to taste)
- 16 slices of avocado (or to taste)
- red pepper flakes
- Start with the hollandaise sauce. Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, water, salt, and pepper into a blender.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and place into a small saucepan. Heat on medium until the butter is hot and foaming. Remove from heat.
- Turn the blender on high and blend for two seconds.
- While the blender is still on, open the top (if you don't have a small opening on your blender, use a towel to cover the top a little bit) and pour the hot butter into the egg mixture drop by drop. [Note: I wasn't coordinated enough to pour drop by drop but I could pour a tiny stream at a time. This made the sauce a bit runnier, but it was still tasty.]
- Taste the sauce and blend in more seasoning if needed. Set aside.
- Put about 2 inches of water in a medium saucepan. Bring the water to a boil.
- Add the salt and vinegar to the water, then lower the heat so the water is just simmering.
- Crack 2 eggs into a bowl. Bring the edge of the bowl to the top of the water and gently slide the eggs in. Cook for 3-5 minutes. The longer you cook the more solid the yolk.
- Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon. Bring the water back to a low simmer then repeat the above step with the last two eggs.
- While the eggs are cooking, cut the English muffins in half and toast them to your liking.
- Take two plates and put both sides of one English muffin on each plate.
- Put 2 slices of smoked salmon on top of each English muffin half.
- Put 4 slices of avocado on top of the salmon.
- Place one poached egg on top of the avocado.
- Using a spoon, drizzle hollandaise sauce on top of the egg.
- Sprinkle a generous pinch of red pepper flakes on top of the hollandaise.
- Serve immediately so the eggs will still be warm.
