Eggs benedict is a traditional way to incorporate hollandaise into a dish.
Hollandaise sauce is made from egg yolks, lemon juice, vinegar, butter, salt and pepper. The sauce is so versatile it can accompany a wide range of foods, but it is especially suited to fish, asparagus and of course eggs benedict. You can tweak the sauce with herbs for a tasty twist on the traditional recipe.
Asparagus
The long green spears of asparagus go well with a slathering of creamy hollandaise sauce. Simply boil asparagus for a few minutes until tender or bake the asparagus in the oven. For oven-baked asparagus, blanch it for a few seconds in boiling water and then remove it and plunge it into ice-cold water to stop the cooking process. Place it into a foil parcel with a squeeze of lemon juice and 2 tbsp. each of olive oil and parmesan cheese. Bake for eight minutes at 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
Steak
Hollandaise sauce is not a traditional accompaniment to steak, but makes a suitable creamy sauce to dip the meat in. Cook the steak as you like it on a skillet with olive oil, salt and pepper and slather over the sauce. Serve with fries and a green vegetable like asparagus or artichoke.
Salmon
The flaky fishy taste and texture of salmon goes well with the lemony flavor of the hollandaise. Sear the salmon for two minutes on both sides. Spoon over the sauce and add asparagus or boiled broad beans after you've removed the bean skin.
Eggs Benedict
Eggs benedict is a saucy alternative to a boring cereal breakfast. Split an English muffin in half and toast it under the grill. Poach two eggs in boiling water until the white is cooked but the yolk is soft -- about two minutes. Place a spoonful of sauce and then a slice of ham onto the muffin halves and top with the eggs. Spoon over the remaining sauce and tuck in.
Sole
Hollandaise adds a creamy butteriness to fish other than salmon. Cover a fillet of sole in flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. Fry the fillet in a skillet with butter and oil for two or three minutes each side until the fish is golden brown. Serve with the sauce and baby potatoes and green vegetables.
Artichokes
Artichokes are an alternative to asparagus when it comes to hollandaise sauce. Take off the tough outer leaves and boil for 20 minutes until tender. Then you can dip the leaves into the sauce. Alternatively, chop off the top of the artichoke before boiling it, then scrape out the center leaves and fill with a mixture of hollandaise sauce and mushrooms fried in butter.
Tags: salt pepper, boiling water, Hollandaise sauce, hollandaise sauce, lemon juice, minutes until, minutes until tender