Eggs Florentine

Method

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1. Melt the 175 g of butter until it is hot and foaming — it should be well above 80°C, hot enough to cook the yolks on contact.

   Mark done

2. Put the yolks, lemon juice, mustard, salt and cayenne in a blender and blitz for 15 seconds.

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3. With the motor running, pour the hot butter in a slow, thin stream through the lid. After about 45 seconds it will be thick, pale and glossy. Leave it in the blender jug somewhere warm.

   Mark done Start 45 sec timer

4. Melt the 20 g of butter in a wide pan, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the spinach in handfuls, stirring until it has all wilted.

   Mark done Start 30 sec timer

5. Season with the nutmeg and a pinch of salt, then tip into a sieve and press the liquid out firmly. Wet spinach makes a wet muffin.

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6. Bring a wide pan of water to a bare simmer and add the vinegar. Crack each egg into a small cup first, and slide them in one at a time.

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7. Poach 3 minutes for a set white and a runny yolk. Lift out with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper.

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8. Divide the spinach between the toasted muffin halves, set a poached egg on each, spoon the hollandaise over and scatter with chives.

   Mark done

Chef’s Tips

• The butter must be hot, not warm. Warm butter gives you a thin sauce that never sets.
• Crack each egg into a cup first. It costs ten seconds and saves the broken one from ruining the pan.
• If the hollandaise thickens too much while it waits, blitz in a teaspoon of warm water.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.
• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Pairing Suggestions

• A glass of cold Champagne
• Smoked salmon, for Eggs Royale
• Black coffee

Storage & Reheating

Assemble to order. Hollandaise does not keep or reheat; make it in the ninety seconds before you need it.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.