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Sauce Hollandaise on boiled white asparagus and potatoes

Hollandaise Sauce is a warm emulsion of clarified butter and lemon juice using egg yolk to bind them. This sauce is not exactly Hollandaise but tastes exactly the same and almost never fails. This recipe also does not require a double boiler which is often a handicap in preparing Hollandaise.

Ingredients

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. water
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1½ sticks butter, (170g or ¾ cup) cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp. parsley

Procedure

1. Clarify the butter by heating it until it melts, taking care not to burn the butter. Once melted, allow to cool until solids appear on the top.
2. Skim off the milk solids, and keep the clarified butter warm/liquid (in a hot cup will do fine).

1. Put eggs, lemon juice, water, salt and cayenne pepper into a non-reactive saucepan ^[1] and beat until smooth.
2. Heat on low, beating constantly with a whisk. If the egg starts to solidify, remove from heat, and DO NOT STOP WHISKING !
3. When the whisk forms streaks in the bottom of the pan (around 8 mins approx), add clarified butter, one teaspoon at a time to begin with, adding more as it combines. Adding the butter too quickly will make the sauce split, and you will have to start over.
4. Sauce should thicken as butter is added, when sauce is desired thickness, remove from the heat.
5. Add optional parsley and serve.

Alternative Method

For a more traditional recipe, whisk the egg yolks over a double boiler in which the water is hot rather than boiling (i.e., start off simmering, do it off the heat). Add the butter one piece at a time, making sure each piece is fully incorporated into the sauce before adding the next. Finish off by adding lemon juice.