EGGS BENEDICT with SMOKED SALMON

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1 EGGS BENEDICT with SMOKED SALMON Serves 4. By Dennis W. Viau; modified from a recipe found on Epicurious. This smoked salmon eggs benedict was shockingly delicious. I did not expect such a good flavor, especially in the hollandaise sauce. Ingredients: For the Hollandaise (makes about 1 cup/237ml): 2 tablespoons lemon juice (preferably from a fresh lemon) 2 tablespoons water ¼ teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon white pepper 3 egg yolks (from large eggs) 1 tablespoon butter 4 ounces (113g) butter; room temperature For the Eggs Benedict (per serving): 1 large egg 1 thick slice of bread; toasted (pain de mie works well) 1 ounce (28g) smoked salmon; sliced Hollandaise from above For Poaching the Eggs: Several cups water 3 tablespoons white vinegar For Garnish: 10 sprigs of fresh parsley; leaves only, finely chopped Directions: To Make the Hollandaise Sauce: Combine the lemon juice, water, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Assemble a double boiler with two saucepans, one pan small enough to fit inside the other. Place about 1 cup of water in the larger pan. Place the egg yolks in the smaller pan and whisk until frothy and slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, slowly add the lemon juice mixture to the yolks and combine thoroughly. Heat the larger pan over a medium-high flame until the water comes to a boil. Carefully nest the smaller pan (with the yolk mixture) in the larger one. Add the 1 tablespoon of butter and whisk constantly over the heat. When the water returns to the boil, reduce the heat to low and whisk the yolk mixture until it thickens to a sauce. This will happen quickly. The internal temperature should be no higher than 150 F (66 C) because at 158 (65 C) the yolk will begin cooking, giving you scrambled eggs. If this happens, discard the sauce (or use it for something else) and start again. As soon as the sauce thickens, quickly remove it from the heat and begin whisking in the 4 ounces (113g) of butter, about a tablespoon at a time, thoroughly incorporating each addition of butter before adding more. Cover the hollandaise sauce and set aside. It can be reheated carefully in the double boiler later

2 Toast the bread, enough slices as needed. To poach the eggs, heat several cups of water with the vinegar in a large sauté pan until boiling. Reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer. Break each egg into a small bowl, trying not to break the yolk, and then ease each egg into the simmering water. Do this close to the surface of the water to prevent the eggs from spreading and breaking up. Note: It is essential to use only the freshest eggs with a white that is still well formed and held together. Older eggs will disperse in the water. Poach the eggs for 3 minutes, adjusting the heat under the water to maintain a gentle simmer. Rapidly boiling water will disperse the eggs. As each egg is cooked, lift from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to absorb excess water. The lacy film can be trimmed from the eggs, if desired. Place a slice of toast on a plate. Arrange a slice of smoked salmon on the toast. Place the poached egg on the salmon and then coat with a generous spoonful of warm hollandaise sauce. Finish by garnishing with finely chopped fresh parsley. Serve. 2 1 STEP-BY-STEP For this recipe I made my own pain de mie loaf of bread. If you re not familiar with pain de mie, it is baked inside of a closed metal box, which keeps the bread dense. It is excellent for sandwiches, toast, and French toast. Shown here is a small bottle of dijon mustard. This is optional in hollandaise sauce. Although I have used it in hollandaise sauce in the past, I kept it out of this sauce because the flavor was excellent without it when paired with the smoked salmon.

3 2 3 Squeeze the juice from 1 or 2 lemons, enough for 2 tablespoons. Use a small strainer to capture any seeds. 3 Combine the lemon juice, water, salt, and pepper. Mix well.

4 4 4 Put the egg yolks in a pan and whisk until frothy, about a minute. Add the lemon juice mixture and combine. 5 Set up a double-boiler by putting about a cup of water in a larger saucepan and bringing it to a boil. Rest the smaller saucepan on the boiling water. Add the 1 tablespoon of butter to sauce and begin whisking.

5 6 5 Whisk the mixture constantly as the water returns to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and continue whisking until the mixture starts to thicken. 7 Here is my thickened yolk mixture. This is ready to remove from the heat. If you continue to heat this the yolks will cook, giving you scrambled eggs. The temperature difference is very narrow; therefore, it is important to watch this step closely. At about 150 F (66 C) this mixture is ready, but at only a few degrees higher, 158 (65 C), the yolks start to cook. So remove the mixture from the heat when thickened.

6 8 6 As soon as the sauce is removed from heat, start whisking in butter, about a tablespoon at a time, fully incorporating each addition of butter before adding more. 9 With all the butter thoroughly incorporated, you ll have a thick and rich hollandaise sauce.

7 10 7 Note: You ll need to warm the mixture again later. Do this over simmering water, checking the warmth closely, lest you turn it into a scrambled, lumpy mixture by overheating it. 11 This recipe calls for toasted bread rather than a toasted English muffin. Here is a slice of my pain de mie. You can see how dense the bread is, compared to store-bought white bread.

8 12 8 To poach the egg, add the vinegar to a pan of water and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to keep the water barely at a simmer. Rapidly boiling water will break up the egg before it cooks. Gently ease your eggs into the water and cook 3 to 3½ minutes. The yolk should be a liquid, but most of the white should be cooked. 13 Meanwhile, arrange a slice of smoked salmon on a toasted slice of bread. You don t need to butter the toast, as there is already plenty of butter in the hollandaise sauce.

9 14 9 When the egg is poached, use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a paper towel to absorb excess water. You can trim the lace off the edges of the egg for a neater appearance. 15 While the egg is still hot, place it on the smoked salmon.

10 16 10 Finally, drape the egg, salmon, and toast with a generous helping of hollandaise sauce. Optional: You can garnish this with chopped fresh parsley before serving. Conclusion Well made hollandaise sauce is a rich and decadent addition to many dishes. It is one of the few foods I sometimes crave. This eggs benedict, made with smoked salmon, is one of the finest uses of hollandaise sauce that I have ever discovered. The one thing that keeps me from making this often (and clogging my arteries with cholesterol from all the butter and egg yolks) is the chore of making a loaf of pain de mie.