Pancake Benedicts - a twist on my favorite

I've been trying to incorporate a couple of vegetarian meals into our weekly dinner rotation.  It's good for the budget, it's good for the body, and it's good because I get to try out recipes from some of my favorite vegetarian-friendly blogs.

Like Cate's! A few weeks back I made the smokey black beans with spinach and masa dumplings found in her blog.  I failed to take a picture of my misshapen lumps and they were gone without any leftovers.  Well maybe I shouldn't say "any leftovers" because I was left with a bag of masa flour. 

So I went searching for recipes using Masa and stumbled upon this one.  And my eyes lit up.  You see, one of my favorite breakfasts of all times is a Southwestern Eggs Benedict.  I love it so much I play with every variation I can think of.  I put it on bagels, English muffins, corn bread.  But I'd never had it on a pancake before!  A corn-flour pancake, topped with a poached egg and some Southwestern flavor sounded right up my alley.

This was a huge hit with everyone - even Thatbaby who gets his eggs "poached hard."  The rest of us got soft, creamy eggs that released their bounty over a pile of salsa.  With gooey cheese added in for good measure.  Breakfast, is served!

Masa Pancakes Topped with Poached Eggs (adapted from Bon Appétit via epicurious.com as seen on The Way The Cookie Crumbles)

¾ cup masa harina (corn tortilla mix)

½ cup (2.4 ounces) all purpose flour

½ cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1½ cups buttermilk

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for cooking the pancakes

12 large eggs + vinegar

Salsa

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

¼ cup crumbled queso fresco or shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread masa harina on a heavy baking sheet and bake until fragrant and golden, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.

2. Whisk masa, flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl.

3. Whisk the buttermilk, 2 eggs and 3 tablespoons oil in a medium bowl to blend.

4. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk just until blended (the batter will be thick).

5. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Working in batches, spoon scant ½ cup batter onto the griddle. Using a spoon, spread the batter to a make 4-inch-diameter pancake. Cook until the bottom is golden, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook until the second side is golden, about 3 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a simmer. Add a little vinegar (a splash, if you will).  Working one at a time, crack each egg into a small ramekin.  Use a spoon to quickly stir the simmer water, to create a whirlpool.  Pour the egg from the ramekin into the whirlpool.  (I usually will do 2-3 eggs at a time this way).  Simmer until the eggs are softly poached, about 3 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon.

7. Divide the pancakes among plates. Top each pancake with salsa and 2 poached eggs and sprinkle with cilantro and cheese. Serve immediately.