eggs benedict

eggs benedict with spinach, mushroom & bacon

breakfast luxury - perfect poached eggs with all the accompaniments

ingredients:

hollandaise

• 2 egg yolks

• 150g melted butter

• 1tsp white wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar reduction

poached eggs

• 4 eggs

• pan of water

• pinch of salt

accompaniments

• 2 english muffins

• 4 rashers of bacon

• handful of chestnut mushrooms

• handful of spinach

• chopped chives
  

method:

hollandaise:

1. Bring a pan of water to a simmer.

2. Melt 150g butter in a separate saucepan, once melted set aside.

3. Place a bowl over the pan of water and add the egg yolks to the bowl.

4. Whisk the egg yolks initially and in a steady stream gently pour in the melted butter continually whisking to create volume in the sauce.

   Top tip: Pour too quick and the sauce will split, resembling scrambled eggs.

5. Continue adding the melted butter until you have the sauce consistency that would coat the back of a spoon.

6. Once at the right consistency pour in the white wine vinegar or vinegar reduction, season to taste, keep warm & set aside.

   Notable mention: For the vinegar reduction, boil vinegar, peppercorns & tarragon, strain and leave to cool.

   
   poached eggs:

1. In a pan, add a pinch of salt, a cap of vinegar, top with water and bring to the boil.

2. Place a lid on the pan until you are ready to poach the eggs.

3. Once ready, you can create a vortex with a whisk and crack each egg into a small bowl and gently drop into the water to poach for 3 minutes.

4. After 3 minutes lift out and set aside on kitchen towel. Pop into ice water if poaching ahead of time.

accompaniments:

1. Bacon - grill on high, once cooked set aside and keep warm.

2. Spinach - gently wilt in a pan with a knob of butter and salt & pepper to taste.

3. Mushrooms - sauté in a small amount of butter and fresh thyme.

4. Muffins - Slice the muffin, toast and butter as desired.

assembly:

1. Place the toasted muffins at the base, add the first layer of wilted spinach.

2. Place on top the sautéed mushrooms, with the bacon to follow.

3. Place a poached egg on top of each muffin.

4. Spoon the hollandaise coating each poached egg.

5. Place under the grill to heat the sauce, top with chives and enjoy.