Eggs Benedict
Benedict is not hard technically, it is hard logistically: four hot components have to meet on the plate at the same moment. Hollandaise is an emulsion of yolk and butter, and heat breaks it, so the yolks are whisked over a water bath and the butter goes in as a thin stream.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Servings
- 2
- Level
- Challenging
- Per serving
- 630 kcal
Ingredients
Hollandaise
To assemble
Makes: 4 halves, serves 2
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Melt the butter
Melt it and let it cool slightly — it should be warm, not hot. Hot butter scrambles the yolks in seconds.
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Step 2: Whisk the yolk base
With a mixer, whisk the yolks with the water, lemon juice and salt in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, the bowl not touching the water. Whisk for 3 to 4 minutes until pale and thick enough to hold the whisk marks.
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Step 3: Add the butter
Lift the bowl off the heat and pour in the warm butter in a thin stream, whisking without pause. Rushing this step is the only reason hollandaise splits.
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Step 4: Finish the sauce
Add the cayenne and more lemon juice to taste. If it is too thick, loosen it with a teaspoon of warm water. Cover and keep somewhere warm, but off the heat.
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Step 5: Toast the base
Toast the muffin halves in a toaster or dry pan, and warm the ham slices for a minute on each side. Keep both warm.
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Step 6: Poach the eggs
Bring the water and vinegar to about 90 °C, barely trembling. Strain off the thin white through a sieve and poach each egg for 3 minutes for a runny yolk.
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Step 7: Dry the eggs
Rest them on kitchen paper for 10 seconds. Water clinging to the white thins the sauce right there on the plate.
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Step 8: Assemble
Top each muffin half with ham, an egg and a generous spoonful of sauce. Scatter with chives and serve immediately.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Split sauce? Whisk one fresh yolk with a spoonful of water over the bath and dribble the broken sauce into it drop by drop.
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Tip
Order decides everything: sauce first, then toast and ham, and the poached eggs absolutely last.
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Variation
Use smoked salmon instead of ham, or wilted spinach squeezed dry.
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Storage
Hollandaise cannot be kept or reheated — warming it breaks the emulsion. Make it just before serving.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 2 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 630 kcal | 1,260 kcal |
| Protein | 27 g | 54 g |
| Fat | 46 g | 92 g |
| Carbohydrates | 26 g | 52 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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