Celebrating Saint George’s day in style with this recipe…
Hollandaise Sauce Reduction:
- 125 ml of white wine vinegar
- 125 ml of white wine
- ½ shallot finely diced
- 2 bay leaves bruised
- Pinch of sea salt
To begin in a medium saucepan add your shallot along with a pinch of sea salt, your bay leaves and both of your liquids.
Bring this to a boil and reduce by a third, this is your reduction which you use to form your hollandaise.
Once at this point allow to cool down completely, this keeps for up to a month in the fridge in a glass jar. You can make a bigger batch of this liquor.
Clarified butter:
To begin place a whole block of butter into a small saucepan and allow to clarify in a warm place, by clarifying butter you remove any excess water or fat which will result in a cloudy and chalky hollandaise.
Using a ladle, remove the water and fat
Hollandaise Sauce:
- 4 free range egg yolks
- 2 dashes of your reduction
- 250 grams of clarified butter
- Squeeze of lemon
- Pinch of black pepper
- Pinch of sea salt
To begin over a pan of rolling water place your bowl of egg yolks and your reduction and whisk to combine, next gently pour in your clarified butter and whisk constantly. Ensure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water as this will scramble the eggs.
Once your sauce has reached the ribbon stage then you know your sauce is ready, at this point taste and adjust the seasoning with a squeeze of lemon and pinch of both black pepper and sea salt.
Then decant into a thermo container to stop a skin from forming over the sauce.
Grilled Asparagus:
- 2 bunches of freshly picked English asparagus
- Dash of olive oil
- Pinch of sea salt
- Squeeze of lemon juice
To begin either place under a high grill or an open fire, you want your asparagus to still be al dente.
Once it is perfectly cooked this will only take 3 minutes
Drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt, black pepper and lastly a squeeze of lemon juice, as this gives the whole dish a beautiful lift but also complements the rich hollandaise perfectly.
Poached eggs:
- 2 eggs
- 150 ml of water on a rolling boiling
- 2 caps of white wine vinegar
Once your pan has reached a rolling boiling, stir with a spoon, crack your eggs in and cook till the white perfectly encapsulates the rich yolk, this will take around 3 minutes keep an eye on them.
Once ready remove the pan of water using a slotted spoon and place onto a piece of j cloth, then trim them so they are perfect.
To plate:
On a preheated artisan plate, lay out your grilled asparagus top with your poached eggs and then lastly drizzle with your hollandaise sauce, to finish add some cracked black pepper and enjoy with a crisp glass of cold wine.
The Gourmet Gent
The Gourmet Gent 