Asparagus, hollandaise and poached eggs
Asparagus, hollandaise and poached eggs – now this is the way to start your day. Probs make this on a weekend though as it’s not quick as fast to whip up as your weetabix and milk, but my god it’s delicious…and nutritious.
I threw in the asparagus because I feel like it’s a bit underused and when cooked right, it’s delicious. Now I admit there is a bit of work to this recipe but that’s mainly because I made the hollandaise element from scratch, but you could buy this if you really wanted. It’s a great dish to work on certain skills like poaching eggs to perfection, making sauces from scratch and playing around with different flavours.
For more breakfast and brunch-inspired recipes, have a browse through my recipes here. I love a potato based brekky so prepare yourself for an absolute takeaway of beige. This recipe is the greenest one I’ve done in a while.
Ingredients
- 4 large, fresh eggs (2 for poaching, 2 split into yolks and whites - reserve whites for another recipe)
- 1 banana shallot, peeled and sliced
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 100ml white wine vinegar + a good glug for poaching
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 spears of asparagus
- 250g salted butter
- Good quality olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Very slowly melt 200g of the butter in a saucepan and allow the pure butter and milk solids to separate, then pop in the fridge to chill. Finely slice up the shallot, throwing it into another small pan with the vinegar, bay leaf and peppercorns. Pop this over a medium-low heat to infuse and bubble.
- Take 2 of the asparagus spears and slice into discs all the way up to the top. When you reach the pointed head, slice this in half lengthwise. Place a frying pan with about an inch of water in the bottom onto a medium heat and season well with salt, then bring to the boil.
- Strain the bayleaf, peppercorns and shallots from the vinegar and set aside to cool to room temperature. Scoop the yellow clarified butter from the top of the milk solids and wipe off any excess liquid. Melt the clarified butter (not too hot so your eggs don’t scramble) and pour into a jug.
- In a bowl over a pan of simmering water add in the 2 egg yolks. Add in 1tbsp of the vinegar reduction and whisk until well combined, then slowly dribble in the melted butter, whisking constantly over the pan of water. When it has thickened up, season well with salt and pepper (and a dash of tabasco if you fancy), then remove from the pan of water and place clingfilm on top, pressing it down to come into contact with the hollandaise so it does not form a skin.
- Place a large pot of water over a medium heat with the vinegar for poaching and wait until it just starts to simmer - a few small bubbles coming up around the edges. Use a whisk to stir the water quickly and create a whirlpool and quickly crack the eggs into the centre, leaving a few seconds between each one so they do not stick together.For soft poached eggs, cook for 3 minutes at a very low simmer.
- While the eggs cook, add the remaining whole asparagus stems to the frying pan of boiling water and leave to cook for 3-4 minutes. Add in a few cubes of butter and swirl the pan to help the butter melt and emulsify. Add in the halved asparagus heads and leave for another 1-2 minutes.
- Toss the slices of asparagus in a swirl of good quality olive oil and salt and pepper. Place the full spears of asparagus on the plate and top with the poached egg, scatter over the dressed slices and spoon over loads of delicious hollandaise.