In culinary school, there was one week that was dedicated to making sauces. We had to learn how to make the five mother sauces of classical cuisine including my least favorite, hollandaise. Day after day, we would make clarified butter and emulsify it with egg yolks and lemon juice. I hated it. I hated tasting the rich sauce spoonful after spoonful. To this day, I refuse to order eggs benedict solely because of the sauce. Well, today I decided to make a version that I would actually enjoy by incorporating key limes. One bite of this southwestern hash with chimichurri eggs and key lime hollandaise and I was sold. This breakfast was beyond words. If you're like me and am not a huge fan of hollandaise, I encourage you to give this a try. It might just change your mind.

Recipe

Print Recipe

Southwestern Hash with Chimichurri Eggs

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Cuban

Keyword: vegetarian

Servings: 2

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Chimichurri

• 1 cup parsley finely chopped
• 1 shallot minced
• 1 garlic minced
• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
• juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• ½ cup olive oil
• salt and pepper

Hash

• 2 potatoes cut into bite-size chunks
• 2 tablespoon oil divided
• 1 fresno chili thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 2 cups asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
• ½ red onion diced
• 1 bell peppers diced
• 1 fennel diced
• 2 roma tomatoes diced
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• salt and pepper

Key lime hollandaise

• 1 cup boiling water
• 3 egg yolks
• ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon key lime juice
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoon coconut oil
• salt and pepper

Remaining ingredients

• 4 eggs poached
• crusty bread for serving optional

Instructions

• Make the chimichurri. Finely chop all the ingredients including parsley, shallot, and garlic. Combine with the red chili flakes, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Place the chopped potatoes in a pot filled with water. Season the water with salt. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook the potatoes until fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saute pan. Add the potatoes and cook until golden brown and crispy on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In the same pan, add another 1 tablespoon oil. Saute the fresno and garlic until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the asparagus, red onion, bell pepper, and fennel and saute until the vegetables are softened and tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add back the potatoes and chopped tomatoes. Season the vegetables with cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Keep warm.
• Pour 1 cup boiling water in a blender. Close the lid and let sit for 5 minutes. Drain the water and wipe the blender clean. Add the egg yolks, dijon mustard, and key lime juice. Heat the coconut oil for 30-45 seconds or until melted and warm. Slowly pour the coconut oil in egg mixture with the blender on, emulsifying the mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
• Poach the eggs. Portion the vegetable hash into 2-3 bowls. Top with poached eggs and drizzle the chimichurri on top. Pour the key lime hollandaise on top and serve with crusty bread.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

I'll admit this southwestern hash with chimichurri eggs and key lime hollandaise came together on a fridge forage day. I just happened to have leftover chimichurri, key limes, and excess vegetables, so it just made sense to put this dish together. I could not be happier with the results.

Chimichurri is one of my favorite condiments. I can put it on my avocado toast, steak, chicken, and even salmon like on this Thai bbq salmon with Thai chimichurri recipe. You can even make batches of chimichurri and freeze it! To make the sauce, finely chop parsley, shallots, and garlic. You can also use a food processor to cut the time in half. Stir it together with lemon zest, lemon juice, red chili flakes, and a good amount of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and there you have it.

Next, prepare all of the vegetables for the hash. Although there is no meat in this southwestern hash with chimichurri eggs and key lime hollandaise, feel free to throw in whatever protein you desire. You can also change up the vegetables, adding what's in season. Are asparagus not available? Use brussels sprouts. Not a fan of fennel? Swap it for leeks. No potatoes? How about sweet potatoes? The world is your oyster!

Cook the potatoes in water until fork tender and then saute them to get it nice and crispy. Cook the other vegetables until softened and season with cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper.

While the vegetables are cooking, make the key lime hollandaise. You can always prepare the sauce the old school way, clarifying butter and slowly whisking it with the key lime juice, egg yolks, and mustard. However, there is a much simpler method! My chef instructor might yell at me for sharing this technique, but I found much success preparing the sauce with a blender. First, pour boiling water into the blender to get it nice and warm. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then drain the water and wipe the blender dry. Add the egg yolks, mustard, and key lime juice. Then, turn on the blender and slowly add the coconut oil to emulsify the mixture. Even if the sauce sits for 30 minutes, it won't break. Magic.

Poach some eggs and throw everything together with the vegetables, a generous serving of the key lime hollandaise, and chimichurri. Serve this southwestern hash with crusty bread to dip in that sauce and soak up all the goodness. This is, without a doubt, my favorite hash.

For more breakfast inspiration check out this eggs in purgatory with potatoes!