My friend Molly first introduced me to eggs Florentine years ago, when we used to regularly have brunch at the Cornelia Street Cafe in the West Village. I was never a fan of eggs Benedict (I just don’t see the appeal of Canadian bacon at all. Tell me, am I missing something?), but eggs Florentine–with its giant tangle of garlicy sautéed spinach–was a whole other story. I couldn’t get enough, and I rarely ordered anything else.
But until now, I’ve never tried to make eggs Florentine at home. It’s the hollandaise, you guys. It’s so intimidating! For one thing, it’s a classic French sauce–something I thought was best left to professionals. And for another, traditional versions are made with an outrageous amount of butter. Like, remember all that healthy spinach? Consider it completely null and void.
It turns out though, that there are plenty of healthy hollandaise hacks out there. I looked at a bunch before devising my own version, made with plain yogurt, egg yolks, Dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, and cayenne pepper for kick.
With the hollandaise sauce taken care of, there was just one other problem. Eggs Florentine can be kind of…dainty. I wanted my version to be hearty and filling, something you would want to dig into for dinner just as much as brunch. So I ditched the English muffin in favor of a bowl of whole grains. I went with barley, but quinoa, farro, or bulgur would all be delicious.
These eggs Florentine grain bowls are so addictive and delicious! When the yolk breaks and runs into the spinach, and you get a perfect bite of eggs, grains, greens, and creamy hollandaise sauce, I promise you will wonder why you never tried it at home, either.
Eggs Florentine with Yogurt Hollandaise
2016-02-03 01:57:02
Serves 4
Substitute any grains you like for the barley. To dress these bowls up even more, add burst cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, or crumbled bacon. I used fried eggs, but of course use the more traditional poached eggs if you prefer.
For the yogurt hollandaise
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the eggs Florentine grain bowls
- 6 cups cooked barley, or other grain of your choice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces fresh spinach
- 4 large eggs
- Kosher salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, for serving
Instructions
- To make the hollandaise, bring 1 inch of water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Fit a small, heatproof bowl over the top (make sure it doesn't touch the water) and whisk in the yogurt, egg yolks, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and cayenne. Cook, whisking almost constantly, until the mixture is frothy, very warm, and somewhat thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove the bowl from the pan and set aside. If you want the hollandaise even thicker, whisk in a few extra tablespoons of yogurt.
- To make the eggs Florentine grain bowls, place 1 1/2 cups of barley in each of 4 serving bowls.
- Heat the olive oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. When the garlic starts to sizzle, add the spinach and cook, tossing, just until wilted, about 3 minutes. Top each bowl of barley with 1/4 of the spinach.
- Return the skillet to heat and crack in 4 eggs. Cook until the whites are set but the yolk is still runny. Top each barley bowl with 1 egg and drizzle with the hollandaise sauce. Season with salt and pepper and a dash of cayenne.
Adapted from Yogurt hollandaise very loosely adapted from eggs.ca
Adapted from Yogurt hollandaise very loosely adapted from eggs.ca
Turnip the Oven http://turniptheoven.com/
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
This sounds delicious! And my husband loves eggs so I know he’d be thrilled to have this for dinner 🙂
Rebecca Hubbell says
I love that you made this with barley, I feel like it’s such a forgotten grain lately! My husband makes a great hollandaise sauce, so I’m going to have to convinve him to make this for me real soon!
Kit Graham says
I love this hearty take on Eggs Florentine! It’s basically all my favorite things combined. Aren’t poached eggs just the best!
Janie says
Great substitutions, especially that yogurty hollandaise, I can almost picture how that tastes!
Janie x
Megan Marlowe says
A healthier hollandaise sauce? Sign me up! Looks like I’ll be trying my first hand at it soon!
Wajeeha says
This looks great…just the kind of dinner I would want to dig into right now! 🙂 w
grace says
i’ve steered clear of both eating and making hollandaise sauce all my life, but this version sounds very appealing! your bowl of grub looks fantastic!
Blair says
Drooling. This recipe looks absolutely divine. I may just make it this weekend for brunch! Thank you so much for sharing. Yum!
xo,
b
Caitlin says
I found your site through a shoutout from Erickson Woodworks, and I’m so glad I did! Eggs Florentine has my heart, and this yogurt hollandaise looks awesome. Love your posts and your photography!
Elisha says
Can this be made with plain greek yogurt?
Lucy Baker says
Yes, definitely!