Central American Recipes: Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict is an American dish that consists of two halves of an English Muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce.

In an interview recorded in the "Talk of the Town" column of The New Yorker in 1942, the year before his death,Lemuel Benedict, a retired Wall Street stock broker, claimed that he had wandered into the Waldorf Hotel in 1894 and, hoping to find a cure for his morning hangover, ordered "buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a hooker of hollandaise. This is the tale that lays behind this dish but many stories are told about the origin of this dish.

Serves: 1 Person

Ingredients

- 2 eggs for poaching 

- 1 muffin, halved 

- 2-3 slices of quality Wiltshire ham 

- 1 handful chives, chopped 

- sprinkling of cayenne pepper

- ¼ teaspoon of black pepper 

- ¼ teaspoon of salt

Hollandaise sauce:

 - 2 egg yolks

 - 2tablespoons of lemon  juice 

- 120 grams of unsalted butter

Step 1:

Put a large  saucepan of water on a high heat. Pour in 2-3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar if you’re not confident about poaching, as this helps the egg white bind. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, make the hollandaise: melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Pour the hot butter into a cup. Lower the heat immediately and add the two yolks. Then trickle in the melted butter, very slowly, while whisking the yolks. Don’t stop whisking and, if need be, remove the pan from the heat if you think the egg is going to scramble. Be patient, as this can take up to ten minutes of whisking. When it is thick and creamy, add the lemon juice. If it’s too thick, whisk in 1-2 tablespoons of warm water.

Step 2:

Crack the eggs into egg cups or ramekins. Turn down the saucepan of water so it’s slightly simmering. Slide the eggs into the water as gently as possible at the point where the water’s bubbling. Let them poach for around 2 minutes, so they’re cooked but with runny yolks. Scoop any egg detritus off the surface of the water.

 Step 3:

While the eggs are poaching, toast the muffin. Add salt and pepper to the hollandaise and make sure it’s still warm but on a very low heat. Place the muffin halves on a plate. Top generously with the ham. Using a strainer or slotted spoon, scoop the eggs out of the saucepan and place on top. Cover luxuriously with hollandaise. Sprinkle with chives and cayenne pepper.  Serve immediately.

Now in America they would say " Enjoy your meal".

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