The Bowdoin Orient

Eggs benedict is a theme in my life. As much as I hate myself for that last sentence and the assumptions that can be made about me because of it, it is a truth that I have learned to embrace.

One summer when I was in high school, there was a week when I made eggs benedict for my family every morning until my mother begged me to stop for the sake of my father’s cholesterol levels. This past Ivies, I woke up Saturday morning and decided to power through the process of making eggs benedict, knowing the result would be just what the doctor ordered.

I have spent many mornings experimenting with different combinations, ranging from a miso beet green base to a smoked salmon to a thick cut of Canadian bacon from the winter farmer’s market in Brunswick. People have started to associate the dish with me so much, in fact, that the other day I got a text from a friend saying, “I just ate eggs benedict.” That’s it.

One of the reasons I love eggs benedict: you can find farm-fresh eggs almost anywhere in the world. And there are a lot of eggs in eggs benedict. Hollandaise sauce is basically egg yolk and butter beaten into a frenzy, with some lemon juice thrown in there (yes, I know, it is quite hard to find lemons on a Maine farm, so I’ll get back to you—maybe—with a possible local substitute for lemon juice. This sauce is then poured, you guessed it, over more eggs. Eggs have a significantly lower carbon footprint than meat (although this recipe includes meat as well as eggs) and pretty much every farmers market, food hub or plain old farm has them. You can also often find locally sourced eggs in a regular supermarket, as they are a pretty reliable product from farms.

I opted for eggs (and most other ingredients) from The Portland Food Co-Op, a local food hub located at 290 Congress Street, to which I highly recommend a pilgrimage. Owned by Portland residents through a membership system, the co-op houses a beautiful and well-stocked 96 percent organic produce section with 115 local items from 20 Maine farms. They also sell meats, cheeses, pre-made meals, soups, spices, pickles, snacks and anything else local they can get their hands on.

Food hubs, for this reason, are becoming a ray of hope in the otherwise murky and complex food system of the United States. They provide both a reliable market and a marketing service for farmers, as well as a one-stop shop for all things local for consumers. The Portland Food Co-Op also offers cooking and nutrition classes, programs for people living under a certain income level and SNAP benefit acceptance so as to make local, healthy food a reality for as many people as possible.

Choosing ingredients was soo easy it was hard. There were so many beautiful veggies and fruits and greens and meats to choose from, so immediately a million ideas for different eggs benedict combinations occurred to me. However, my friend that I had promised eggs benedict to that morning had suggested lamb, so I started there.

From then on, this recipe became an amorphous, ever-changing idea, from the buying of the ingredients to the final blistered cherry tomato. I even broke the cardinal rule of eggs benedict and decided not to make hollandaise sauce, which led to somewhat of an existential crisis. I had willingly chosen not to smother my food in eggs and butter, and that is quite out of character for me, but I think I am happy with that decision, ultimately. For those that would like to make hollandaise sauce, however, I egg you on, friends.

Poached Eggs over Lamb Hash and Lemony Arugula with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes

Makes 6 eggs benedict

Ingredients:

6 Eggs (Portland Food Co-Op)

Ciabatta Bread (Forage Bakery, Lewiston)

Roughly 3 cups arugula (Portland Food Co-Op)

1 lemon, juiced (Portland Food Co-Op)

1 lb. ground lamb (Portland Food Co-Op)

1 yellow onion, minced (Portland Food Co-Op)

2 cloves garlic, minced (Portland Food Co-Op)

Cherry tomatoes (Portland Food Co-Op)

Fresh thyme, finely chopped (Portland Food Co-Op)

1 inch peeled and chopped fresh ginger root

2 tsp. turmeric

2 tsp. cumin

Olive Oil

A dash of vinegar

Salt & Pepper

Preparation:

This is a great recipe to make with friends, as there are many parts and each of you can be in charge of something. Make all the components and assemble on top of ciabatta toast like eggs benedict. 

Lamb Hash:

1. On medium heat, heat about 2 Tbsp. olive oil in large cast iron pan. Sauté onion until slightly translucent and soft.

2. Add garlic and ginger to pan and sauté about 2 minutes, until fragrant.

3. Add lamb, and mix well. Cook until lamb starts to lose its pink color, then add turmeric, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 5 more minutes.

4. Once the lamb is cooked and starting to brown, add the fresh thyme and cook for about 1 more minute. Remove pan from heat.

Arugula and Ciabatta:

1. While lamb is cooking, take care of the little stuff. Toss the arugula with about 1 Tbsp. olive oil and the juice from the lemon. Slice ciabatta and toast slightly. These steps can be done really whenever in the process, but the more everything can be finished at the same time, the better.

Eggs:

1. Put a pot of water on to boil. You want it to be rather large in diameter and fit at least 5 inches of water.

2. Once water has boiled, reduce the heat to keep the water at a steady simmer.

3. Add about 1 Tbsp. vinegar, to help the eggs keep their shape.

4. Carefully break the eggs into the water. Do this in batches, depending on this size of your pot. I would not recommend trying to poach 6 eggs at once.

5. Cook eggs for about three minutes each, until whites have hardened and yolks are still pretty runny.

Blistered Cherry Tomatoes:

1. Heat a pan pretty hot with olive oil. Throw tomatoes in there until they blister, rolling them around sometimes.