Take your eggs Benedict to Italy with a sun-dried tomato spread, crispy pancetta and a delicious pesto to kick off your day with a flavorful start.
Whenever I go out for brunch, I order eggs Benedict. It used to be that it was my “vacation brunch”. You know, something I treat myself to when I’m in the tropics. These days, I live every day like I’m on vacation (for better or for worse – haven’t decided) and that means, eggs Benedict all the time. 
For the weekdays, when mounds of butter just don’t seem all that necessary, this recipe calls out to me.
I like to whip up a batch of pesto, a batch of sun-dried tomato cream cheese, get a big loaf of bread, and enjoy this dish at least once a day for a week straight! Big thank you to the Italian that first put garlic, cheese, pine nuts, and basil in a pestle and mortared it. For that matter, big thanks to the other Italian that put tomatoes on their roof so they’d dry out and last longer.
As for the poached eggs, I give you….absolutely no tricks. I don’t spin my water, I don’t use apple cider vinegar, I don’t crack the egg into a cookie cutter type apparatus. Just bring the water up to a simmer, salt it, gentle crack in your egg, and even gently-er lift it out with a slotted spatula a couple minutes later. Then a big ol’ dose of salt and crack black pepper on top again. MMmm poached eggs make my heart melt!
Italian Eggs Benedict with Pesto, Tomatoes and Pancetta
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2 slices rustic bread
- 1/4 C cream cheese
- 4 sun dried tomatoes (chopped fine)
- 2 slices prosciutto
- 3 TBS pesto
- salt and pepper
For the pesto:
- 1 C basil
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 TBS pine nuts
- 1/4 C parmesan cheese (grated)
- ? C olive oil
- salt and pepper
- ? C olive oil
Instructions
- Put a pot of boiling water on medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Salt water heavily.
- Toast the sliced bread. Set aside.
- Mix the cream cheese and sun dried tomatoes together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Crisp the prosciutto in a pan on both sides. Set aside.
- Mix the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and cheese in a food processor and pulse while pouring in the olive oil. Season and set aside.
- Gentle crack each egg in the simmering water and poach until whites are cooked through and yolk is soft – about 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside on paper towel to soak up excess liquid.
- Assemble the dish by spreading cream cheese spread on the toast, top with prosciutto, poached egg, and pesto.
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean
