Easy Hollandaise Sauce

Lauren and Austin were in town last week while on leave and one of the mornings they stayed with us they requested Eggs Benedict - although I had never made it before, of course I said yes...thank God for the internet and a ton of other 'home chefs'!  I found a couple of recipes that sounded easy and after a little tweaking came up with the following (based on Julia Child's recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking)...

EASY BLENDER HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

Prep time: 10 minutes
Yield: Makes about 1 cup of sauce, good for about 4-6 servings.

INGREDIENTS

3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne or freshly ground black pepper (optional)
½ cup unsalted butter (if using salted butter, skip the added salt)
Finely cut chives for garnish 

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt the butter: Melt the butter slowly in a small pot. Try not to let it boil—you want the moisture in the butter to remain there and not steam away.

2. Add the egg yolks, 1 ½ Tbsp. lemon juice, salt and cayenne (if using) into your blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 20-30 seconds.  The friction generated by the blender blades will heat the yolks a bit. The blending action will also introduce a little air into them, making your hollandaise a bit lighter.

3. Once the yolks have lightened in color, turn the blender down to its lowest setting (if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work), and drizzle in the hot melted butter slowly, while the blender is going.  Continue to blend for another couple seconds after the butter is all incorporated.

4. Adjust salt and lemon juice to taste: Turn off the blender and taste the sauce. It should be buttery, lemony and just lightly salty. If it is not salty or lemony enough, you can add a little lemon juice or salt to taste.

 

5. Garnish with fresh chives.

Notes:

* If you want a thinner consistency, add a little warm water. Pulse briefly to incorporate the ingredients one more time.
* Store until needed in a warm spot, like on or next to the stovetop. Use within an hour or so.
* Can be refrigerated for up to a week.  To reheat, use the stovetop on low and stir while heating.  BE CAREFUL not to use to high of heat as it can ‘break’ the sauce.

I used some of the leftover sauce (reheated) over grilled salmon and some steamed veggies - WOW!  This sauce is a keeper.