Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Hollandaise Sauce

I love hollandaise sauce. Love eggs Benedict. I have a recipe for an eggs Benedict-ish dish using crab instead of ham. I haven't made that one yet, but did want to try a home-made hollandaise. Supposedly a bit of a tricky emulsion to master. As I made this recipe I was starting to feel very confident: It was beautiful – smooth, golden, velvety – but as I continued adding the butter (slowly, whisking all the time) it started to separate. I put down the butter, whisked fast-and-furiously! But as soon as I'd stop…separation. :(

Disappointed, and a little frustrated, I dumped in the rest of the butter and poured the whole recipe into my Magic Bullet blender to whip it that way and see if I could get a smooth emulsion back. Success! Texture: silky. Flavor: I used a little too much Dijon. Next time, less of that and a touch more lemon. Or I may try just a pinch of dry mustard instead. Still, it was delicious over sautéed asparagus and mushrooms, with a slice of home-made sourdough bread.

Hollandaise
4 egg yolks
1 Tbls lemon juice
1/2 to 1 C melted butter
salt
pepper (white blends invisibly)
Optional:
1 Tbls dijon
cayenne

Whisk together egg yolks and lemon juice in double boiler to just warm. Slowly drizzle in melted butter, whisking constantly. Remove from heat.
Salt and pepper to taste. Add either or both of last two ingredients as desired.

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