Butternut Breakfast Sliders with Creamy Avocado Pesto

by Angela Gallardo in Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

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Update 2018: want to poach your eggs in your Instant Pot? It just happens to be one of the many 36 recipes in my new Instant Pot for Beginners eBook!  Click below to get your copy!

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Another assembly-style recipe for you today!  (Obviously, I’m a huge fan.)

Assembly cooking is really all about perfect pairings.  While there’s not a lot of actual “cooking” going on here, there’s still a great chemistry of flavors happening, which results in something that will blow your taste buds away.

Bitter greens and a little fat from creamy avocado are the perfect offset for the salty prosciutto and the (sometimes boring on it’s own) butternut squash.  They also make a really interesting pesto.  Especially if you go for cilantro in place of the traditional basil, like I did here.

And the pesto mixed in with a little runny yolk…

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Butternut Breakfast Sliders

Total time: 45 minutes

Yields:  3-4 servings

1 large butternut squash (look for one with a long “neck”)

Avocado oil

Sea salt & black pepper

6-8 8″ slices of prosciutto (can sub bacon)

6-8 poached or soft-boiled eggs

For the Creamy Spring Greens Pesto:

2 oz. bitter greens (your choice: mustard, dandelion, or even a spring mix would work)

2 oz. arugula

1 oz. fresh chives

2 tbsp. minced fresh basil OR cilantro (pick your favorite, don’t use both!)

1 large garlic clove

1/4 – 1/2 ripe avocado, cubed (more avo yields a thicker pesto)

1 lemon, juiced (about 3 tbsp)

1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Slice the end off of the “neck” side of the butternut squash.  Don’t worry about peeling it.  Slice 1/2″ discs along the length of the squash.  You should get 6-8 pieces, depending on how large your squash is.  Don’t slice into the “bulb end” (since those pieces will have a hole in the middle due to the seeds).  Save it for another use, like this Butternut Squash Quiche.

Lay the butternut discs out on a lined sheet pan.  Grease well with avocado oil on both sides.  Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.  Bake for about 45 minutes, or until golden on both sides.  Depending on the heat distribution in your oven, you may want to rotate the pan and/or flip the discs halfway through the cooking time.

While the squash is roasting, prep the prosciutto by toasting it in a lightly greased skillet until crispy.  Break the pieces in half to fit the approximate circumference of the butternut discs.  Poach or soft-boil your eggs and have them ready in a covered dish so they stay warm.

Prepare the Spring Greens Pesto by placing the bitter greens, arugula, chives, basil (or cilantro), and garlic into the bowl of a large food processor.  Process until everything is broken up small and crumbly, stopping the scrape down the sides as needed.  Add in the avocado, lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper.  Process until very smooth with no chunks of avocado apparent.

Assemble your stacks by placing a warm butternut disc down, topping with a bit of pesto, then a few pieces of crisp prosciutto, an egg, and a little more pesto on top.