Quick and Easy Hollandaise
eggs benedict; half an english muffin topped with ham, poached egg and hollandaise sauce.
Hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and New Year!
First post back for the year is a quick and easy version of hollandaise sauce. With the copious amount of butter in the recipe it's not an everyday food, but for a special occasion brunch or to team with new season steamed asparagus you can't go past the silky smooth indulgence of hollandaise... not bad for a "morning after" breakfast either ;)
Plus it's uses egg yolks and if you are a mad keen macaron or pavlova baker you're always looking for ways to use those leftover yolks.
Ham; this was the last of our gorgeous Christmas ham too, kindly given to us by my Step son Dan's Step father Anton. Anton and Dan's Mum Debbie own a butcher shop in Melbourne's Eastern Suburbs where they cook their own hams. Soooo much better than any leg hams sold in your local supermarket, if you live in the area pop in or give them a call at....
Mc Adam Meats
Tel: 03 9723 3322
Specialising in:
Quality Bio Dynamic Meats
Free Range Poultry
OTWAY Pork
Home made Cabana, Smoked Chicken and Ham
Shop 18 McAdam Square, North Croydon 3136
Now, lets get on with making the hollandaise...
Ingredients
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon water
6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of lemon juice or verjuice
salt and white pepper to taste
Verjuice is the juice from unfermented grapes; not as acidic or bold in flavour as lemon juice, preferred by my hubby Mark.
Method
Put your 3 egg yolks and water in a heatproof bowl, place your bowl over a quarter filled saucepan of barely simmering water on your stove top; keep the heat as low as possible & you keep the water at "barely simmering" you don't want to end up with scrambled eggs.
Whisk until light and a ribbon trail is formed when you lift your whisk up. Slowly add the softened butter, one tablespoon at a time, whisking until fully incorporated between additions.
Season with salt and white pepper and stir in lemon or verjuice. Serve immediately.
Notes; if your sauce curdles as long as it's not grainy it can be saved by either adding an ice cube and whisking until it comes back together or by removing one tablespoon of the curdled sauce to a small bowl, add a squeeze of lemon juice, whisk this until emulsified and slowly add this back to the curdled mixture whisking as you go.
If your sauce is too thick, whisk in warm water a teaspoon at a time until thinned.
Need another recipe to use those left over egg yolks?
Try your hand at fruit curd and butters.
Or what about making pastry cream ... yum!!