Nova Lox Benedict. This has got to be the ultimate breakfast/brunch/brinner meal. I tried a version of this dish a few years ago at a hotel restaurant in New York, then rushed home to replicate it in my own kitchen. It’s a kosher alternative to traditional eggs benedict, and personally I like it even better than the Canadian bacon version. Quality smoked Nova lox are incredibly delicious. When layered on a toasted English muffin, topped with a poached egg and lemony hollandaise sauce, something magical happens… it’s like a flavor explosion.
Lox are thinly sliced, smoke-cured salmon fillets. Smoke-curing is one of the most ancient methods of food preservation. When smoke-curing salmon, the fish is dried and salted to remove moisture. The fish is then exposed to smoke. The smoke combined with the salt creates a unique flavor that has become synonymous with Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. The process of smoking fish was adopted centuries ago by Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews; smoked fish was stored and eaten throughout the long, harsh winter season. Nova Lox (aka Nova Scotia salmon) are a delicious form of smoked salmon… they are cold smoked and cured with a milder brine than most smoked salmon, giving them a smoother, lighter flavor. While Nova lox used to originate in Nova Scotia, Canada, the name has evolved to describe the flavor of the mild brining process– and now, you can find Nova lox sourced from a number of places. You can use any type of smoked salmon with this recipe, but I really prefer good quality Nova if you can find it. The flavor is just perfect.
For this recipe, you’ll need to know how to poach eggs. It’s not difficult, promise– all it takes is a little practice. You’ll be poaching up a storm in no time. For a detailed recipe and tutorial, click here:
You’ll also need to make a batch of hollandaise sauce. I use a slightly adapted version of Julia Child’s method for making Blender Hollandaise– it’s super easy, and only takes about 3 minutes. As she puts it, the technique is “well within the capabilities of an 8 year old child.” For the recipe and tutorial, click here:
Julia Child’s Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce
Once you learn those two methods, you’re good to go! The rest of the process takes only minutes. Impress your hubby with breakfast in bed. Host a wedding shower and serve it for brunch. Or have it for brinner… because it’s BRINNER WEEK, and I can’t imagine a more delicious brinner (breakfast for dinner) meal.
Nova Lox Benedict
Ingredients
- 4 poached eggs - click here for technique
- 2 English muffins, split in half
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 oz. Nova lox (or your favorite smoked salmon)
- 1/2 cup hollandaise sauce - click here for recipe
- 4 small sprigs of fresh dill for garnish
- Poach 4 eggs to desired doneness. For instructions on how to poach eggs, click here. If you'd like, you can poach the eggs up to 1 hour in advance, then reheat them by placing them all in hot (not boiling) water for 1 minute prior to serving.
Toast your English muffins. Butter the four toasted halves and set them onto serving plates.
Place 1 oz. of smoked salmon lox onto each muffin.
Place a poached egg on top of each slice of salmon.
Make your hollandaise sauce just before serving-- it will only take about 3 minutes. Click here for recipe. Pour 2 tbsp of hollandaise onto each egg.
Garnish each egg with a sprig of fresh dill.
Serve. Watch everybody "ooh" and "ahh" at your gorgeous presentation.- Note: Use caution in consuming raw and lightly cooked eggs due to the slight risk of salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, use only fresh, properly refrigerated, clean grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.
- Most Jews who keep kosher consider fish neutral, meaning it can be served with dairy. Certain traditions do not mix milk and fish. Check with a trusted rabbinical authority if you're unclear on this restriction.
OK, Tori!!! I’m all over this one…a recipe full of my favorite things…I’ll bathe in “loxury” in the Hollandaise when I’m done with brunch (LOL)…
let’s see: Nova Lox, Eggs, English Muffins, BUTTER, Lemon…I’m dyin’ oveh heah!!!!
My mouth is watering. Eggs Benedict is just about my favorite food.
Now… that is so tempting…..where is a good place to buy the salmon? Can any salmon be used. I live in the boring midwest….
love the color and very nice presentation.
Just when I thought eggs benedict couldn’t get any better – you added lox! I love it!
Wonderful! So glad I found this. Eggs Benedict is one of my all time favorite foods and this method for preparing the hollandaise sauce is so much easier than the way I was taught.
I am right with ya! Lox beats Canadian bacon. GREG
My boyfriend and I eat eggs for breakfast literally every day…there are only so many veggie/meat/egg combos you can come up with before you exhaust them all. I can’t believe I have never made eggs benedict – probably because I never looked for a homemade hollandaise sauce recipe. I love the nova lox benedict idea. I’m definitely going to make this soon to change up the morning scramble routine. Have a fun weekend!
I love the presentation of this dish! Simple to make, delicious in taste…
I was just commenting on another blog this week that we’ve never poached eggs before. Now I’m really going to have to try. We would all LOVE this version of Eggs Benedict. Smoked salmon is always a hit around here.
I am so going to have to make this. I am not Jewish however so I like to make my poached eggs in whole milk. Adds added calcium to the mix. I had heard of this version on TV a while back I think and had been thinking about making it! Now I have no excuse with a super recipe in front of me. Poaching eggs was my grandmother’s most favorite way to eat them. I will poach them in her memory! Thanks for a great recipe.
Before I developed an allergy to salmon, that was one of my favorites! Now, I just have it without any meat – or spinach! Thanks for the recipe for Hollandaise, it’s on my culinary bucket list.
I had a combination of eggs Benedict / Florentine for the first time for Mother’s day ( had never had either one ) and that flavor is now my favorite , told my friends that was better than chocolate and nothing is better than chocolate.
This looks wonderful with the salmon!
I made this for a ladies brunch, and it was a hit. I have to say, though, that your poaching method wasn’t as successful for me. I ended up using Julia Child’s method, and it’s marvelous.