Eggs Benedict with hollandaise sauce Ingredients – Eggs benedict: o ½ English breakfast muffin o 1 egg o 1 slice of soccer ball ham o 1t butter (for muffin) o Dash of vinegar
Hollandaise sauce: o 30g butter (at room temperature) o 15ml cream o 1 egg yolk (slightly beaten) o 2t lemon juice o 1/4 dry mustard o 1/8 salt o Sprinkle of cayenne pepper
Method - Hollandaise sauce: 1. Place a silver aluminum bowls over a medium saucepan that is 1/4 filled with water. Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. 2. Remove the bowl, put a saucepan lid on the saucepan and bring the water to the boil over high heat. Uncover and reduce to low heat so the water Is barely simmering. It is important that the water is barely simmering while making the sauce otherwise if the water is too hot the egg yolks will cook too much and the sauce will curdle. 3. Crack the egg yolk into the aluminum bowl and place over the saucepan. Use a wire whisk to whisk the mixture consistently for 1 minute. 4. Add the butter, 1 small cube at a time, whisking consistently and adding another cube when the previous one is completely dissolved into the egg mixture. (This should take about 10 minutes, to add all the butter.) don’t cook the sauce for too long otherwise it might curdle. 5. The sauce will begin to thin when you start adding the butte. However, once the emulsion is established, after about third cube, it will begin to thicken again. If it begins to separate or curdle it can be saved if it isn’t too grainy and the eggs haven’t set. To save the sauce: 1. If the sauce begins to curdle or separate, remove the bowl from the saucepan immediately. Place the bowl over a large bowl filled with cold water and ice cubes to stop the cooking process. (this is called a water bath.) 2. Continue to whisk the sauce on the water bath until the sauce looks as one again. 3. If this doesn’t work then, combine 1t of lemon juice to the sauce while whisking intensively. 4. Whisk until the mixture combines and thickens and the emulsion is reformed.
6. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and place on a heatproof surface. The cooked sauce should have the consistency of a very lightly whipped thickened cream. Whisk in the lemon juice, dry mustard, and salt. To assemble eggs benedict: 1. Place a small saucepan on the heat, filled with about 5cm deep of water. Add a dash of white vinegar to the water. 2. When the water is almost shimmering whisk the water in a whirlpool motion (this helps the egg to stay together), crack an egg onto a ladle and lower into the swirling water. 3. Cook the egg for around 2 ½ -3 minutes, and remove from water to check the runniness of the yolk with your finger. 4. Toast English muffin. 5. Arrange the ham, egg, muffin, and the hollandaise sauce as desired. 6. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper. 7. Photograph.