Eggs Benedict

Now I always thought that eggs benedict was named after Benedict Arnold, who in the American Revolutionary War fought on the side of the Americans, but later defected to the British Army.  But that did not make much sense to name a dish after him, not really. So I looked it up and it would seem that either it a wealthy man Lemuel Benedict suffering from a hangover ordered “some buttered toast, crisp bacon, two poached eggs, and a hooker of hollandaise sauce” at the  Waldorf Hotel in New York. Or that a Mr and Mrs LeGrand Benedict who were patrons of Delmonico’s Restaurant inspired the dish. But it had nothing to do with Benedict Arnold.

You will need

3tbsp white wine vinegar
3tbsp white wine
2 peppercorns
1 dried bay leaf
2 eggs, yolks only
125g/4oz butter
lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste
6 large, very fresh eggs
12 slices smoked streaky bacon, grilled until crisp
3 English muffins
a little butter

start by making your hollandaise sauce. A lot is made about how hard this is to make nut it is easy really. Take the white wine vinegar, white wine,  peppercorns and bay leaf and heat in a pan so it reduces by half . In another pan melt you butter, make sure that all the fat and water are separated. Now in a bowl start to whisk your egg yolks and add the melted pure butter fat to the egg yolk a little at a time. Add some of the wine and vinegar then more butter and so on until you have made the sauce. Finally season with salt and pepper and a little lemon juice.

Now get your grill on to its highest setting and grill that bacon so it goes nice and crispy. Then in a pan poach your eggs. Once the bacon is cooked place it to one side and lightly toast your split muffin. Now butter your muffin lay the bacon across it, place a poached egg over then and finally spoon over about 5 or six spoonful’s of the hollandaise.

To finish flash the Eggs Benedict under the grill for just 25-30 seconds, and keep an eye on it, It is done when you just start to glaze the surface of the hollandaise.

 Serve straight away with a good cup of hot coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. It is good from breakfast lunch or dinner.