Christmas Breakfast Extravaganza / Eggs Benedict with Ballymaloe Relish
- Cooking Time: 45 minutes - Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/Gas Mark 8
- Serves: 6
- Allergens:
Description
There are conflicting accounts as to the origins of Eggs Benedict but we like Wall Street stockbroker, Lemuel Benedict’s story about wandering into the Waldorf Hotel in NYC in 1984, looking for a hangover cure. He ordered buttered toast, poached eggs, crispy bacon and hollandaise sauce. The Waldorf’s maître d’hôtel was so impressed that he put in on the hotel’s breakfast & lunch menus – substituting ham for bacon and an English muffin for the toast. Serve with Ballymaloe Relish.
Ingredients
- To make your scones (makes 9):
- 10oz plain flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ pint buttermilk
- 4oz butter (cold)
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- To make the candied bacon:
- 6 slices streaky Irish bacon
- 2oz light brown sugar
- To make the Hollandaise Sauce:
- 6 free-range egg yolks
- 4oz butter (cold & diced)
- ½ tsp cold water
- For the poached eggs:
- 6 free-range eggs
- Salt
- Ballymaloe Relish
Dietary Suitability
Method
- Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/Gas Mark 8.
- To make your buttery scones, sieve then combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Cube the cold butter into the dry mix. Work the butter into the flour quickly but not fully - little flecks of butter are a good thing. Make a well in the centre of the mix and pour in the buttermilk. Work quickly and - without kneading - bring the mixture together. It should be sticky - if it appears too dry add a little extra buttermilk.
- This mixture will make 9 scones in total. Using a tablespoon, scoop up the mixture and place on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Remember to leave a little room between spoonfuls. Bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown. Move from the baking tray to a wire rack while you prepare the rest of your Eggs Benedict.
- To make the candied bacon, line a baking tray with foil and top with an oven-proof wire rack.
- Place the bacon on the wire rack, then sprinkle the sugar on top of the streaky bacon as evenly as you can. Place in the preheated oven and roast for 15--25 minutes.
- Once the bacon is golden & crispy, remove from the oven. Place on a parchment paper lined tray as you prepare the remaining breakfast components (if it cools on the rack it will stick and be impossible to remove later).
- To make the hollandaise sauce, use a small pot and whisk the egg yolks and a teaspoon of water together. Place on a low heat and continue to whisk while adding the butter one dice at a time. As each piece of butter melts, add the next one. Monitor the heat (a little steam is OK but too much and your base will curdle). Whisk continuously until all of the butter is incorporated and you have a rich yellow sauce. Remove from the heat.
- To make the poached eggs, bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the salt and bring back to the boil. Crack an egg into a small glass and, once the water returns to the boil, give it a stir then gently place the rim of the glass at the water's edge and pour in the egg in one go. Repeat quickly with the second egg. Cook for 3 minutes or until the white is set and the yolk is soft to touch.
- Using a slotted spoon, pop the poached eggs on to a kitchen paper lined plate to dry.
- To assemble, cut your scone in half. Slather both sides with Ballymaloe Relish, then top with a poached egg & your home-made hollandaise sauce. Finally, place the candied bacon on top at a jaunty angle and serve immediately to ensure your poached egg remains lovely and soft!
