project 52 | 4: hollandaise sauce

This past weekend I woke up and all I could think about was eggs florentine for breakfast.  Great!  But we didn’t feel like motivating and going out to brunch.  Besides, it’s not like you can just roll around the corner to the diner and get killer eggs benny… Why?  Because there IS no “diner around the corner”, nor “killer eggs benny” in Istanbul.

So what to do?  Yep, make it from scratch.  Difficult?  Actually, surprisingly easy.  And might I add, quite delicious.  Here is the recipe:

Hollandaise Sauce

Difficulty Level: easy-medium

Servings: two 2-egg servings

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter, firm
1 Tbs lemon juice
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of salt

Instructions:
Separate egg yolks from the whites.   In a metal bowl, whisk the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne and place the bowl over a pot of boiling water.  Make sure your pot is small enough to hold the bowl so that the bowl is not touching the water (think double-boiler).  You may want to have an oven mitt handy since the metal bowl will get hot.

Add half of the butter and mix in with the egg mixture continuously with a spatula. The yolks will start to become stringy if the temperature reaches over 110 degrees F. Remove the bowl from the pot if the temperature gets too hot and wait for it to cool.  Add the other half of the butter once the first half is completely melted. If the yolks start to separate add a little cold water and beat with the whisk.  Once the butter is melted and the sauce has thickened, voila you have hollandaise sauce!

Now, for those wanting to complete the picture…

For eggs florentine, you will need poached eggs.  Crack the eggs first and place them each into a separate containers/cups.  Boil the water with a tablespoon or two of white vinegar added.  Now stir the water in a wide circle and add the whole eggs, one at a time.  The slightly acidulated water will set the eggs quickly, while the whirlpool of water will keep the egg in a ball. Poach at a simmer for four to five minutes for set whites and soft yolks.  Timing of the eggs and the sauce is important because you want both to be warm, but not overcooked.

To assemble, on top of toast or toasted english muffin place your steamed spinach, then poached egg, and top with your hollandaise sauce.  Enjoy!

For more information on Project 52, read here.