Kitchen Craft Episode 9: The perfect eggs benny
Perfectly poached eggs, plus home-made hollandaise? You can do it – Chef Clem is here to show you how. (And he shows off the trick to getting that perfectly boiled egg as well…)
Ingredients:
- About 1 T of white or brown vinegar
- 4 large free range eggs
- 2 free range egg yolks
- 1 t Dijon mustard
- A pinch of cayenne pepper
- 8 T butter, melted
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- 2 English muffins, halved and toasted
- Softened butter, to butter your muffins
- Baby spinach 50 g, blanched
- 4 slices of Parma ham
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Chives to garnish
- Extra Parma ham, crisped, to garnish (optional)
Method:
- Bring a pot of water to a gentle simmer over a medium heat. (Don’t fill the pot with too much water.)
- Add the vinegar and stir through. Crack your eggs into a shallow cup before gently pouring into the water. Allow the eggs to poach for 3 minutes for an egg with a still-runny yolk, and 4-5 minutes for a more firm yolk.
- Prepare the hollandaise by adding the yolks to a beaker or container that works with your stick blender. Add the Dijon and cayenne pepper and blend on a slow speed until combined, before slowly pouring in the melted butter, stopping if needed to incorporate the ingredients before drizzling in the butter again. The sauce should thicken immediately. Once all the butter has been added squeeze in the lemon juice and season lightly with salt to taste.
- Butter the toasted English muffins, then add the spinach, followed by the Parma ham, the poached egg and a generous amount of the hollandaise. Season lightly and finish with some chives as a garnish. Top with a piece of crispy Parma ham (optional).