Eggs Benedict

Ingredients

• 4 very fresh eggs, for poaching
• 3 egg yolks, for the hollandaise
• 175 g butter, melted and warm
• juice of half a lemon
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 4 slices of good ham
• 2 English muffins, split
• a pinch of cayenne

Method

1. Set up

   Bring a wide pan of water to a bare simmer with a splash of the vinegar. Have everything else ready first — hollandaise and poached eggs both wait badly.

2. Start the hollandaise

   Whisk the yolks with a tablespoon of water and the lemon juice over a pan of barely simmering water until thick and ribboning. Keep the bowl off the water itself; direct heat scrambles the yolks.

   5 min

3. Add the butter slowly

   Off the heat, trickle in the warm butter drop by drop at first, whisking hard, until it thickens and emulsifies. If it splits, start again with a fresh yolk and beat the split sauce into it a little at a time.

4. Poach the eggs

   Strain each egg in a sieve to lose the wispy white, then slide into the water and cook for three minutes for a set white and liquid yolk.

   3 min

5. Assemble

   Toast the muffins, top with the ham and the drained eggs — blot them on kitchen paper first, or the water thins the sauce.

6. Sauce and serve

   Spoon over the hollandaise, dust with cayenne, and eat immediately.