Culinary/Recipes/Hollandaise Sauce

Dutch sauce in French, Hollandaise is well known as a key ingredient of eggs Benedict, and is often served on vegetables such as steamed asparagus.

This recipe is for one serving.

Ingredients

• 60g (3/4 cup / 2 oz) butter
• 1 egg yolks
• 1/4 tsp white wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar
• squeeze of lemon juice
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Method

• Melt the butter in a saucepan or microwave and keep it warm.

• Fill a saucepan with a couple of inches of water and bring it to a gentle simmer over low to medium heat.

• In a heatproof bowl that fits snugly over the saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks and water until well combined.

• Place the bowl over the simmering water (bain-marie / double boiler) and whisk continuously. Cook the egg yolks until they thicken slightly, about 1-2 minutes.

• Slowly drizzle in the melted butter while whisking vigorously. Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens.

• Add salt to taste and fresh lemon juice. Whisk until the sauce reaches a smooth and velvety consistency.

• If the sauce is too thick, you can thin it by whisking in a little warm water. Adjust the seasoning with more salt or a pinch of cayenne pepper if desired.

• Remove the bowl from the heat and serve the Hollandaise sauce immediately.

Troubleshooting

• If the sauce breaks while you’re whisking or when you serve it on extremely hot food, it will become grainy and thin and the emulsion will split.

• If the sauce looks like scrambled eggs, the egg yolks are overheated. This can't be salvaged.

• If the sauce separates, beat an egg yolk and a tablespoon of water in a clean bowl over simmering water. Then, slowly whisk the broken sauce into the egg yolk in the clean bowl.

• If it’s too hot, slowly whisk a tablespoon of cold water or heavy cream into it to quickly bring down the temperature and keep the liquids together.

• If the sauce is separating because it’s too cool, or you’ve added the butter too quickly, return the bowl to the double boiler and whisk in a tablespoon of hot water to help “degrease” it. Then continue whisking in the remaining butter.