The mother of all warm butter sauces, and the sister of your béarnaise: the same technique, but with lemon instead of tarragon. With asparagus, poached fish and eggs Benedict there is no alternative.
Hollandaise
Sauce hollandaise
Hollandaise
Sauce hollandaise
Method
01
Reduce
Reduce the vinegar with the water and the peppercorns to about one tablespoon. Strain and leave to become lukewarm.
02
Sabayon
Whisk the egg yolks with the reduction over a bain-marie to a thick, airy ribbon that holds the trail of the whisk. Take the bowl off the water as soon as it feels too hot for your finger.
03
Mount with butter
Off the heat, whisk in the lukewarm clarified butter in a thin stream to a thick, glossy sauce.
04
Season
Season with lemon juice, salt and a pinch of cayenne. Serve immediately, lukewarm.
Tips & notes
Clarify your butter yourself by melting it gently and leaving the white sediment and foam behind; that moisture is exactly what makes your sauce split. If you want it slightly lighter, fold in 2 tablespoons of whipped cream just before serving: that is called sauce mousseline and is the classic accompaniment to white asparagus. Contains raw or only briefly cooked egg: keeps for a maximum of 1–2 days well chilled, and is not suitable for freezing.
Chef's tip
Hollandaise and béarnaise share exactly the same technique, a sabayon of egg yolk in a bain-marie, mounted with clarified butter, and differ only in their source of acidity: lemon versus a tarragon reduction.
Variations
- Sauce maltaise – With blood orange, for asparagus.
- Sauce mousseline – With whipped cream, lighter.
- Sauce noisette – Mounted with brown butter instead of clarified.
Contains:
Eggs
Milk
Sulphites
Serve with
- Green asparagus
- Poached fish
- Eggs Benedict
- Broccoli
- Salmon
| Calories | 560 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 41 g |
| Fat | 46 g |
| Fibre | 16 g |
Estimated values, calculated from standard nutritional values per ingredient.
