As previously mentioned in my English muffins post, eggs Benedict for breakfast became something of a ritual for Jack, John and myself (and Claire) during our days on Barber Road. Every Saturday one of us (not Claire who would have hers served to her in bed) would be in the kitchen, bleary-eyed and hung-over, whisking egg yolks in a bowl to make the hollandaise. The combination of bacon, poached egg and that lovely tangy sauce is fantastic, and a great hang-over cure too! Classic eggs Benedict is made with ham I believe, but we always used bacon because we were convinced it was tastier.

Eggs Benedict Recipe
To make the Hollandaise Sauce (serves 4-5): Prepare some reduced vinegar by boiling 500ml white wine vinegar with some flavourings (eg black peppercorns, fresh tarragon, whole mace, bay leaf) and reduce by half. Strain and pour back into the bottle. You’ll only need 2 tablespoons for the hollandaise but you will have a supply for next time! It’s also nice in a salad dressing. Next, take 250g butter and melt in a pan over a gentle heat. Separate the milk solids from the clear stuff and set aside. You should have about 200ml of clarified butter. Get a large-ish mixing bowl and whisk 3 egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of your reduced vinegar over a large pan of simmering water (you will also use this for poaching the eggs), taking it off frequently to avoid overheating and cooking the eggs. Keep whisking for about 10 minutes, until it forms ribbons when you life the whisk up. This is called a sabayon. Now take it off the heat and whisk in the clarified butter, one ladle-ful at a time. Finally, add some salt to taste along with some freshly squeezed lemon juice.


Fry some bacon, preferably streaky and smoked, and keep warm. Slice 1 English muffin in half and put in the toaster just before poaching the egg. Carefully crack the egg into a small shallow dish and slide it gently into the almost-simmering water (do two in one pan if you can). Use a spoon to manipulate any stray bits of white back into place if you dare. Once done, simply arrange on a plate as shown in the photograph above, and don’t be shy with the hollandaise. Superb!