How to Make Low(er) Carb Eggs Benedict

Low(er) Carb Eggs Benedict Crepes!

Eggs Benedict Crepes

Mr. Martini and I feign a low-carb "lifestyle".  I say "lifestyle, because it really is more than just chucking pasta and bread, and I say feign because I have been eating pasta and bread everyday for about three months.  Hey, I'm knocked-up again, and that stuff is like starchy diamonds to a pregnant chick. 

 

In any case, because it is a lifestyle, I try to lower our carb consumption when cooking.  And because I am a mom of two with one on the way, I try to dress up our inevitable leftovers whenever I can.  Over the weekend I scored big on both fronts with these yummy, super pretty,

Eggs Benedict Crepes stuffed with leftover Tarragon Chicken.

 

SHOPPING LIST:

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts (Leftovers work great!!)

1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped

1 tsp (or so) Dried Tarragon 

6 Eggs

1 stick, plus 3 TBS Butter

1 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup Milk

1/4 tsp Salt

1 TBSP 9or so) Lemon Juice

3 TBS White Vinegar

Oil (for crepes... non-stick makes it unnecessary)

 

LETS GET COOKING!!

 

CREPES:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour and 2 eggs. Gradually add in 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly. You want it to just barely coat the pan.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Stack each crepe on top of each other between sheets of waxed paper so they don't stick together.  Move on.

CHICKEN:
Since I used leftovers, I just chopped the chicken into small pieces.  The smaller the better, since the crepes are delicate and may tear if you wrap them over giant chunks. If you don't have leftovers, saute your chicken breasts with some salt and pepper until fully cooked.  Cool until you can handle them, and chop 'em up.

Saute finely diced onion in a 1 TBSP butter until transparent.  Add Chicken and Dried Tarragon.  Feel free to add a splash of lemon juice if you wish (I think you get enough of a lemony kick with the Hollandaise, but whatever floats your boat ;)  Cook until just warmed up and yummy smelling.

MEANWHILE: bring water in a high-sided sauce pan to a simmer for the poaching of the eggs.  Add about 3 TBS vinegar (this will keep your poached eggs neat and pretty).

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE:
So many recipes say to use a double boiler.  I think, unless you think everything cooks better on high and thus you tend to have to scrape most of your dinners off the bottom of the pan, you should be fine without it.  I set my stove to about 3 (medium-low?).
In a smallish sauce-pan set on medium-low, whisk 2 eggs and 1 TBSP lemon juice like you are in a whisking competition. Once combined thoroughly, add 1/4 cup firm butter, and stir constantly until the butter is just about melted.  It should take a little while, you don't want your butter to melt super quick.  Low and slow to cook the eggs.  Add the remaining 1/4 firm butter, and continue stirring.  Now as the butter melts, the sauce should begin to thicken up. Double check your lemony-ness, and if you prefer a bit more pucker, add a bit more juice.  When thickened, take it off the heat.  Voila!
**If you happen to heat it too quickly and the sauce separates, add about a TBS of warm water and whisk like your a human whisking machine.  This should help re-bind the sauce.

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER AND WHAT DO YOU GET?
Put about 3-4 TBS chicken mix in a crepe and roll up. Top with your poached eggs, and
drizzle Hollandaise Sauce on top. I fancy-it-up with a shake of paprika and a little parsley, but that is almost entirely for visual interest and can be skipped in a pinch.

How low carb you say:  I got about 10 crepes out of the batter, and the batter has about 94.5 carbs total, so you're looking at about 9.4 carbs per crepe.  The chicken filling has minimal carbs (I'm not a big fan of counting veggie carbs... there's too many good things about them to be concerned with it) and the sauce and eggs have none.  So, not too shabby ;)  And really, who the hell cares?  These babies are too delicious to fret about it.