Hello folks! Welcome to another Cuisine Saturday. Today, we are going all the way to the land of the Gauls to pick of the recipe for a fantastic dish. Hollandaise (pronounced “hullindays”) sauce is an emulsion of egg yolk and melted butter usually flavoured with lemon juice. It is loved for its rich buttery flavour with a slight lemon tang. Hollandaise sauce is usually eaten with fish and vegetables. We’ll do that version today so let’s get started.
Ingredients.
3 egg yolks
5 tbsps fresh lemon juice
1 cup of butter (not margarine)
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of hot water.
500g of fish fillets (I would recommend salmon, but you can use herring, mackerel or tuna)
2 tsps of black pepper.
2 tsps of dry basil
salt to taste.
Procedure.
1. Start with the fish. Since you’re using fillets, you don’t have to worry about cleaning the fish of scales, skin and bones (which is more than I could say the first time i made this). Rub in the basil, salt and pepper. Spinkle olive oil and 2 tbsps f lemon juice on the fish then wrap in foil. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours.
2. Now to the sauce. Bring some water to boil in a wide sauce pan. Place the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk over the hot water. Do not let the bowl touch the water , and ensure that you do not scramble the eggs while whisking; you might need to take the eggs off the heat from time to time just to be safe.
3. Melt the butter over some hot water, making sure it doesn’t boil. strain off any curd.
4. Pour the melted butter into the egg yolk, still over hot water and whisk till the mixture is thick and creamy.
5. Once the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and add the rest of the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Bring out the fish, and grill at 175°c until properly cooked.
7. Serve the fish with warm hollandaise and steamed vegetables. Bon apetit!