EGGS BENEDICT

Eggs Benedict is an American brunch dish that many different people claim to have invented. Whoever it was did us all a favour.

Serves 4

4 eggs 2 English muffins Butter 4 slices of ham A few chives, snipped

For the hollandaise sauce

50ml (2fl oz) white wine vinegar A few peppercorns 1 bay leaf 1 shallot, finely diced 1 mace blade (from supermarkets) 3 egg yolks 250g (9oz) butter, melted Lemon juice (optional) A pinch of sugar (optional) Salt and freshly ground black pepper Poach the eggs for 2½ minutes. Carefully place them on kitchen paper to drain. Now make the hollandaise sauce. Put the vinegar in a small saucepan with 50ml (2fl oz) water, the peppercorns, bay leaf, shallot and mace blade. Bring to the boil and simmer until the liquid has reduced to 2tbsp. Strain it into a bowl, discard the solids and set aside.

Put the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl with a pinch of salt. Whisk in the vinegar reduction, then set the bowl over a pan of simmering water so that the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water. Gradually add the melted butter, a few drops at a time to start with, and whisk constantly until you have a thick emulsion.

Continue adding the butter in a steady stream until it is all incorporated and you have a thick, glossy sauce. Taste for seasoning and add lemon juice or sugar to balance the flavours. Keep warm. Split, toast and butter the muffins and put a slice of ham on each half.

Bring a large frying pan of water to the boil and add the poached eggs for 30 seconds just to warm them through. Put an egg on each muffin half, then spoon the hollandaise sauce over. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately.