I was introduced to eggs benedict a few years back when a great mate of mine, Brendan Magill, absolutely raved about how good an experience he’d have when going to Oscar’s Restaurant to start his day with eggs benedict. I always enjoy a challenge so I thought let me research on how to make this dish that Brendan speaks so highly of! My research, testing with numerous failed attempts and trying many variations was such that now my wife tells me she can never get eggs benedict as good as this in a restaurant. Let me tell you how – it really is so easy.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs poached … or fried in egg rings if you don’t have an egg poacher
- 4 slices of health bread, rye bread or low GI wholewheat bread, buttered
- wholegrain mustard
- 125g streaky bacon
- paprika or cayenne pepper
For the Hollandaise Sauce
- 500ml white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
- bunch fresh taragon
- 4 eggs yolks (keep the eggs whites aside to make an egg white omelette the next day!)
- 200g salted butter
- juice of one lemon
- pinch of salt and coarse black pepper to taste
Give it a Whirl!
First make the hollandaise sauce.
Boil the vinegar together with peppercorns and tarragon (don’t stress if you don’t have fresh taragon – you can leave this out as the peppercorn infused vinegar is wonderful regardless). Bring the heat down to a rapid simmer and allow the mixture to reduce by half. Strain and reserve. Store this vinaigrette in an airtight container in the fridge for future use. Great to be mixed with equal part olive oil for a tangy salad dressing.
Boil a large pan of water, then reduce to a simmer. Using a large balloon whisk, beat together the yolks and 2 tsp of the reduced wine vinegar in a heatproof bowl (normally a stainless steel bowl) that fits snugly over the pan.
Beat vigorously until the mixture forms a foam, but make sure that it doesn’t get too hot. To prevent the sauce from overheating, take it on and off the heat while you whisk, scraping around the sides with a plastic spatula. The aim is to achieve a golden, airy foam (called a sabayon), which forms ribbons when the whisk is lifted.
Whisk in a small ladle of the warmed butter, a little at a time, then return the bowl over a gentle heat to cook a little more. Remove from the heat again and whisk in another ladle of butter. Repeat until all the butter is incorporated and you have a texture as thick as mayonnaise. Finally, whisk in lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
Fry the bacon in a little oil until crispy. Set aside and start to assemble the dish.
Then move on to poaching the eggs – poach until the whites are just cooked through but leaving the yoke quite soft.
Make some toast with the wholewheat bread, spread a little butter on the slices while they are still warm then generously spread wholegrain mustard onto the toast.
Take the crispy bacon and place it over the wholegrain mustard, place an egg onto the bacon then cover with the hollandaise sauce. Give it a good sprinkle with Paprika and place under the grill in the over until the sauce begins to brown then remove from the oven and enjoy with a good cup of coffee and some great friends or family.
