recipes@decwrl.UUCP (07/17/87)
HOLLANDAISE-1(S) USENET Cookbook HOLLANDAISE-1(S)
LIGHT HOLLANDAISE
HOLLANDAISE-1 - A quick and easy Hollandaise sauce
Few small things seem to impress dinner guests more than a
good Hollandaise sauce. Perhaps this is because the guests
think it is difficult to execute. This recipe disproves that
notion; it makes it simple to produce a consistently good
Hollandaise sauce. Use it over asparagus, to dip
artichokes, with steak and rice, or for anything you can
imagine. The original recipe comes from Julia Child & Com-
pany.
INGREDIENTS (11/2 cups)
3 Tb fresh lemon juice
3 Tb water
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
6-8 oz unsalted butter
PROCEDURE
(1) Melt the butter in a small saucepan. It should be
warm, but not bubbling hot.
(2) Combine the lemon juice and water in a small sauce
pan. Bring to a simmer, adding the salt.
(3) Meanwhile, place one egg and the yolks of the
other two in a smallish saucepan. Vigorously beat
the egg and yolks with a wire whip for a minute or
so, until they are pale and thick.
(4) Set the yolk mixture over moderately low heat and
whisk in the hot lemon juice by driblets. Continue
whisking, not too fast, but reaching all over the
bottom and corners of the pan, until you have a
foamy warm mass. Remove from heat just as you see
a wisp of steam rising. (Do not overheat or you
will coagulate the egg yolks.)
(5) Immediately start beating in the warm butter by
driblets, to make a thick, creamy, light yellow
sauce.
(6) Taste carefully for seasoning, adding salt,
pepper, and more lemon juice to taste.
NOTES
This sauce is really so easy to make, you should leave it to
the last minute. It doesn't keep terribly well. Any egg yolk
and butter sauce can be kept only warm, not hot, or it will
curdle. Also remember that sauces with egg yolks are prime
breeding grounds for sick-making bacteria.
Copper or stainless steel saucepans are best, as they
transmit and hold heat better than anything else. I often
make this solely in CorningWare pots, and find that some-
times the sauce will not set after removing from heat and
adding the butter. In this case, return the mixture to very
low heat, whisking vigorously until the sauce achieves the
desired thickness. Too much heat will either curdle the egg
yolks or cause the butter to separate from the mixture.
RATING
Difficulty: easy to moderate. Time: 5 minutes. Precision:
approximate measurement OK.
CONTRIBUTOR
Chris Kent
DEC Western Research Laboratory, Palo Alto, California, USA
kent@decwrl.dec.com decwrl!kent