Gluten Free Eggs Florentine

For a special breakfast or brunch in my house we like gluten free Eggs Florentine. It's a variation of Eggs Benedict that includes cooked spinach and a creamy a cheese sauce on top rather than the typical egg yolk rich hollandaise sauce. I sometimes use cornbread rounds instead of English muffins since that's an easy homemade recipe for me.

When you serve Eggs Florentine with fresh squeezed orange juice (with or without champagne) or Prosecco Berry Sangria, it's a decadent brunch. Don't wait for a special occasion, if you like brunch try it this weekend.

Variations

Gruyère or generic Swiss cheese, added to the white sauce is called Mornay sauce. That's what typically goes on Eggs Florentine. Add cheddar cheese instead of Swiss and you've got the sauce for homemade Mac and Cheese.

Substitutions

Store bought English muffins are perfect but when I don't have any I make my basic cornbread recipe. Cooked in a larger pan so it's not as thick I simply cut out rounds using a 4-inch round cookie cutter or a clean tin can (from canned tuna or something similar).

Best Way To Make Perfect Poached Eggs

My husband is the egg poaching expert in our family. We have owned every one of these devices to poach eggs and my favourite way is to have someone else poach the eggs. I think you just need to figure out what works for you and go with that.

• Traditional stove top 6-egg poacher
• Individual silicone egg poaching cups
• Microwave 2-egg poacher
• Non-silicone egg poaching rings (maybe I should try the silicone ones)

I've also tried the method of tying individual eggs in clear wrap and poaching them in a pot of water. It’s a bit tedious but all methods give you poached eggs.

Top Tip: Organize For Success

Organization is the key to serving any dish like that involves several steps. Simply making the same recipe three times, even within six weeks, is super helpful. This seems to create some memory of the steps and the timing and I think that little effort turns any recipe into one you can pull off with ease.

Start by making the cheese sauce since it can be made in advance. I portion the ham and spinach then leave it at room temperature. Since hot cheese sauce goes on top of hot eggs that warms up the spinach and the ham. Then the whole thing goes under the broiler with a little Parmesan cheese and the finished dish should be piping hot to enjoy.

Gluten Free Eggs Florentine

For a special breakfast or brunch in my house it's Eggs Florentine. This variation of Eggs Benedict is topped with cheese sauce instead of hollandaise sauce.

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Canadian

Keyword: Eggs Florentine

Servings: 4 people

Author: Cinde Little

Ingredients

• ▢ gluten free corn bread (or English muffins)
• ▢ 8 pieces gluten free ham or Canadian back bacon
• ▢ 10 oz fresh spinach (or frozen, thawed)
• ▢ 8 eggs

CHEESE SAUCE

• ▢ 2 tablespoon butter
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1 cup milk (1% or 2%)
• ▢ 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese

FINISHING

• ▢ 2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

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Instructions

CORNBREAD

• Cut cornbread into 8 rounds. Place on baking sheet and set aside.

MORNAY SAUCE

• Melt butter in small sauce pan.
• Sprinkle cornstarch over butter, whisk until smooth and slightly thickened.
• Pour half milk into pan, cook stirring occasionally until thickened.
• Add remaining milk and continue cooking until thick and smooth.
• Add shredded cheese and stir until melted. Set aside.

COOKING

• Half fill a frying pan with water, cover and bring to a boil. Add spinach and cook 3 minutes. Drain and squeeze to remove excess moisture. Transfer to cutting board in 8 separate clumps.
• Saute ham. Set aside.
• Poach eggs.
• Preheat broiler.

ASSEMBLY

• Top cornbread round with ham and then spinach. Top with a poached egg.
• Pour a generous spoonful of Mornay sauce on each egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
• Place under the broiler until cheese is lightly browned. Serve.

Notes

Assembly Line - Serving this hot takes a little practise but it's worth it. The more times you make it the easier it gets.

Eggs Florentine for 2 - When I make this for 2 or 4 people I still make the full sauce recipe because I always eat 2 peoples worth. Use the extra sauce to make Macaroni and Cheese, any made up pasta dish, in lasagna or Croque Monsieur.

Let me know in the comments below if you tried this recipe and what you thought.