You may think I’m going to say this dish was inspired by a quaint little restaurant in an ancient village in Italy but it is actually inspired by my favorite place to visit in California, Carmel-by-the-Sea. I’ve previously talked about Carmel in my post for Florentine cookies, also inspired by the same restaurant. My husband and I have been visiting the Central Coast of California for many years and Carmel-by-the-Sea was our main destination. A quaint city nestled on a stunning California coastline, Carmel boasts great shopping and restaurants and scenic beauty. Our favorite restaurant is Il Fornaio which is inside the Pine Inn hotel on Ocean Avenue. It’s where my husband proposed and we’ve been frequent visitors of the hotel and restaurant so much we know all the staff and have become great friends with some. If you’ve never heard of, or seen Carmel-by-the-Sea it’s worth a look. Here’s a link to their travel site. (I’m not paid to promote the city, I just love to visit and it holds a special place in my heart). My go-to dish for breakfast is always uova alla benedettina (eggs benedict). Crispy ciabatta bread topped with sliced prosciutto di Parma (pancetta can also be used) with a perfectly poached egg and the best part is the parmesan sauce, which takes the place of traditional hollandaise. They serve them alongside rosemary roasted potatoes which are delicious in themselves. How do you poach the perfect egg? It’s easy once to practise and know the tips and I have a great tutorial. You can find that here > how to poach an egg. The Parmesan sauce is made very differently to hollandaise in that is has no eggs. It’s butter cooked with flour, milk and grated Parmesan cheese, so easy and so delicious. This is a great brunch item the next time you want to serve something a little different from the regular eggs benedict. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial, with pictures, on how to poach the perfect egg, link. If you’ve tried these Italian Eggs Benedict or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how I turned out the comments below. I love to hear from my readers! You can also ask a question there too. You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see daily recipe updates. Baked Breakfast Potatoes with Eggs I keep the sauce warm over a low flame until the rest of the dish is ready. If it gets too thick, whisk in a little more milk.
