A favorite Sunday brunch indulgence of ours is eggs Benedict. We haven’t found a good one here in Cuenca, so I decided to give it a try. I was surprised by just how easy it is to make. Of course, it has enough calories and fat that we will still hold it back for special occasions…
The image above-left shows the ingredients for the hollandaise sauce, while above-right shows what is needed for the rest of the eggs Benedict. Notice how many eggs are in those two photos? ☺
Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients:
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp lemon (or lime) juice
- 1 dash hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
- 1/2 cup butter
If you are lucky enough to have a niece like Kerry that buys cooking aids as a Christmas gift, you might have a handy yolk extractor like this too!
If you follow Julia Childs, you will build up your arm muscles in making the sauce. I prefer a simpler way — using a blender.
- Heat the butter in a microwave until very hot — about a minute.
- Combine everything except the butter into a blender. Cover and blend for about 5 seconds.
- Remove the blender cover and pour the butter in a small stream into the blender while running on high.
The sauce should thicken almost immediately, as the hot butter cooks the egg yolks. Remove the blender container and place it in a pan of hot water to warm it up before serving.
Eggs Benedict
Ingredients:
- 2 English muffins
- 3 tbsp white vinegar (optional)
- 4 large eggs, fresh as possible and at room temperature
- 4 slices ham or Canadian bacon
- Hot batch of Hollandaise sauce (see recipe above)
Slice the muffins and toast them. Place a slice of ham on each open face side.
The only tricky part here is the poaching of the eggs. There are several gadgets to make it easy, but those aren’t really needed. Crack each egg carefully into separate coffee cups. Boil a pot of water, at least two liters (half gallon). When the water is boiling, swirl the water, creating a vortex. Slide one egg into the vortex and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on the muffin and ham. Repeat with each egg.
Pour the hot Hollandaise sauce over the top and serve immediately.