Loaded Potato Cake Benedict

There’s a lot going on here, but worth all the effort when you hear your husband say it’s the best breakfast ever. It consists of my Loaded Potato Cakes on a bed of sautéed spinach and steamed asparagus, topped with a fried egg and homemade Hollandaise sauce. Enjoy!

Loaded Potato Cakes (I had some leftover from this recipe and froze them for future use. I thought this would be a delicious substitution for hash browns.)

5 eggs, separate the yolks from 3 eggs, save the whites
3 tsp butter, sliced, room temperature
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp water
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
6-8 thick asparagus spears, ends trimmed
2-3 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

In a double broiler, add 3 egg yolks, 1 slice of butter, lemon juice, water, salt and pepper. Whisk rapidly. Once butter melts, continue to add another slice of butter until it’s all whisked in and sauce thickens. Do not let sauce curdle or scramble. Once thickened, remove from heat and set aside.

NOTE: If you don’t have a double broiler, just use a large pot, fill with 1” of water and bring to a boil. Then place a glass bowl over the pot. The glass bowl has to be larger than the opening of the pot so water does not get into the bowl.

Once the Hollandaise sauce is done, add asparagus to the pot of boiling water, add a little salt and cook for 2-3 minutes, until tender. Drain and place asparagus in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

In a large frying pan, drizzle EVOO over med-high heat. Fry potato cakes on each side for about 3-4 minutes, until crispy and brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to soak up excess oil.

Once potato cakes are done, add a little more EVOO to the same pan and sauté spinach until wilted. Sprinkle with a little salt to season. Once spinach is finished, start to plate by creating a little bed of spinach on each plate. Stack a few asparagus spears on spinach. Top with two potato cakes.

In the same frying pan, add more EVOO over high heat. Add remaining egg whites and two whole eggs to pan. Let eggs bubble and edges turn crispy and golden. Flip eggs and fry for another 1-2  minutes, depending on how soft you want your yolks. If the egg whites spread and all run into each other, use your spatula to cut in half and flip one half at a time.

Top potato cakes with eggs (you might need to fold it in half if it’s too wide). Spoon Hollandaise over eggs. Stack nice and tall for an extra wow factor.