Eggs Benedict Florentine with Foolproof Blender Hollandaise

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Brunch-restaurant Benedict, engineered so the timing actually works at home: a blender hollandaise that emulsifies in 60 seconds and holds warm while you work, plus a vinegar-swirl poach that sets four eggs at once in one pot. Garlicky sautéed spinach stands in for the ham, so the yolk and the lemony butter sauce stay the stars.

Ingredients

• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp water
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 10 tbsp unsalted butter

• 4 large eggs, as fresh as possible
• 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar
• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
• 8 oz baby spinach
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 English muffins, split
• 1 tbsp softened butter, for the muffins
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Instructions

1. Set up first, cook second. Fill a wide 3- to 4-quart saucepan or deep skillet with 3 inches of water and set it over medium heat. Fill a kettle or small pot with water to top off later. Line a plate with a clean kitchen towel, and set a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl for straining the eggs. Bring a few inches of water to a bare simmer in a small pot for holding the hollandaise, then turn it off.
2. Crack each poaching egg into the fine-mesh sieve, one at a time, and swirl gently for 10 seconds to drain off the loose, watery outer white — this is the single biggest difference between ragged eggs and tidy ones. Slide each drained egg into its own small cup or ramekin so all four are ready to go at once.
3. Make the hollandaise: melt the 10 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave until fully melted and very hot, about 200°F, with the milky solids settled at the bottom. Meanwhile, add the egg yolks, lemon juice, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cayenne to a blender and blend on medium for 20 seconds until pale and frothy.
4. With the blender running on medium-low, pour the hot butter through the lid opening in a thin, steady stream over 45 to 60 seconds, stopping when you reach the milky solids at the bottom of the pan. The sauce should thicken to the consistency of loose pancake batter. Taste and adjust with salt and a few extra drops of lemon juice. Scrape it into a small heatproof bowl or a warm wide-mouth thermos and set it over (not in) the pot of hot-but-off water; it will hold perfectly for 30 to 40 minutes. If it ever gets too thick, whisk in a teaspoon of warm water.
5. Toast the split English muffins until deep golden, butter them with the softened butter, and keep them on a plate in a 200°F oven.
6. Wilt the spinach: melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add the sliced garlic, and cook 30 seconds until fragrant but not browned. Add the spinach in two handfuls, tossing constantly, and cook 2 to 3 minutes until just collapsed. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, then tip the spinach into a strainer and press gently with a spoon to drain — wet spinach will thin your hollandaise on the plate. Keep warm.
7. Poach the eggs: adjust the pan of water so it is at 180 to 190°F, steaming with just a few bubbles rising from the bottom — never a rolling boil. Stir in the vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir the water in one direction to create a slow whirlpool, then immediately slide in all four eggs, one right after the other, dropping each from just above the surface at a different point around the swirl. The current keeps the whites wrapped around the yolks and stops the eggs from fusing.
8. Cook undisturbed for 3 minutes for a fully liquid yolk, or 3 minutes 30 seconds for a jammy one, keeping the water at a lazy simmer (drop the heat to low if it starts bubbling hard). Lift the eggs out with a slotted spoon in the order they went in and rest them on the towel-lined plate for 15 seconds to drain, blotting the edges. Trim any wispy tails with the spoon's edge.
9. Assemble immediately: set two muffin halves on each warm plate, pile on the drained spinach, top each with a poached egg, and season the eggs with a small pinch of salt and pepper. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of hollandaise over each egg so it just blankets the yolk, then finish with chives and an extra dusting of cayenne. Serve at once.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

Duck Confit Cornbread Waffles with Cane Syrup Gastrique

Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock

One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem