When the revolution to be a domestic goddess happened, and celebrity chefs Nigella Lawson and Rachel Allen spun culinary magic in their home kitchens as new-age mothers took notes, I was sleeping. I’ve never warmed up to the delights of cooking, although I occasionally bake a mean date-walnut cake. But with the sword of what-to-make-for-school lunch always hanging over my head, I’ve learnt to deal with the basics and give uplifting, looks-good-on-Instagram cuisine a wide berth.
So, when the office foodie suggests that I look up the recently-concluded Eggs Benedict festival at Park Hyatt Chennai, not to review but to find out whether its sunny goodness can be replicated at home, I’m a tad reluctant. Why fuss over an egg when it’s the one thing that can be cooked myriad ways — scrambled, hard boiled, soft boiled, baked, devilled, omelette, sunny-side up...
But this is eggs Benedict, the king of the brunch platter, she insists, and I find myself at the open kitchen of The Flying Elephant, with Executive Chef Grzegorz Odolak and his team. The festival saw a surfeit of ways to make eggs Benedict — South Western with brown toast, refried beans, tomato salsa, cheddar cheese and poached egg; Savory Waffle with crispy bacon, BBQ Sauce and spring onion; and a home-grown version called Madras, which showcased a fried idli with tomato slices, potato masala and curry spices, with the poached egg sitting like Humpty Dumpty.
My introduction to eggs Benedict came from Julia Roberts’ eureka moment in Runaway Bride, when her character Maggie Carpenter tastes a gamut of egg dishes and figures out what she wants from life. “I love eggs Benedict. I hate every other kind,” she declares about the dish that is a blend of cuisines from across the world. The standard version features an English muffin for the base, Canadian bacon for the filling and a French hollandaise sauce, with a poached egg for the topping.
A gift from New York to the world, legend has it that at the turn of the 19th Century, Wall Street broker Lemuel Benedict walked into the Waldorf hotel, and ordered crisp bacon, buttered toast and poached eggs with hollandaise, in the hope of curing his morning hangover. The amino acid-carbohydrate-protein mix apparently did. The maitre d’ hotel put it on the menu, and since then, the dish has been coveted by food connoisseurs.
Over the years, several versions of eggs Benedict have been created, and for the masterclass, Chef Odolak chooses the eggs Florentine, that substitutes ham with a blanched spinach-onion cream. He’s got the ingredients laid out, and tapping the egg gently slips it, with the yolk unbroken, into a pan of bubbling water to poach it. The white unfurls, and in a couple of minutes the egg is done, scooped out and dipped in a bowl of ice-water. It firms the egg, but it should be drained well, lest it drenches the muffin.
Then comes the making of the hollandaise — a quick, sleight-of-hand process that I watch with rising apprehension. The white wine vinegar reduction is ready, with shallots, a lone bay leaf and peppercorns. The clarified butter is liquid gold. The eggs are whisked in a vessel placed on a double boiler, and in one swift move, the butter, the reduction, lemon and seasoning are added. I taste a spoonful. Its citrusy flavour bursts through a layer of creamy waves, the pepper specks punctuate it, and its thick consistency wraps around the tongue. The hollandaise is poured into a thermo whip, a stainless steel vacuum bottle with a charger, and shaken to make it light and foamy.
The muffin is sliced and one half is toasted, slathered with butter and filled with the spinach-onion cream. The poached egg is placed on it and the thermo whip pipes in the hollandaise sauce. Chef grates the cheddar and incises the egg. It drips sunshine on the plate.
Back home, I slot its making for the weekend. The first poached egg looks like a floundering boat with billowing white sails. I scoop it out and serve it to the resident crow — raised on hard yolks, it squawks in surprise. I let the water simmer and, this time, have the perfect poached egg. The vinegar reduction takes eternity and I whisk the eggs-butter-lemon juice and pepper till my arm protests. I don’t have a thermo whip. So I whisk some more. I’m thinking of running away like Maggie Carpenter. I toss the sliced muffin on a hot plate, till it stiffens a little and spread the butter. The spinach-onion paste needs a little more salt. I place the poached egg and once more whisk the hollandaise that has sunk. It perks up a bit. I quickly drizzle grated cheese and cut open the egg. It smells good, and the runny yolk spills and sets. Like the sun on a warm summer day.
EGGS BENEDICT
Ingredients
For the eggs Florentine
English muffins, horizontally split, buttered: 2
Baby spinach, blanched, chopped: 2 large handfuls
Free-range eggs, poached: 4
Shallots, sliced: 100 gm
Chopped shallot: 1 tbsp
Garlic, chopped: to taste
Grated parmesan cheese: to taste
Salt, pepper: to taste
Fresh cream: 100 ml
For Hollandaise:
Butter: 200 gm
Egg (whole): 1
Egg (yolk): 3
White wine vinegar: 75 ml
Black peppercorns: 10 gm
Bay leaf: 1
Salt: to taste
Lemon juice: 1
Cayenne pepper: 1 gm
Method
Place the buttered muffins on the grill pan or hot plate, toast them. Blanche the spinach, chop and place in ice water. Sauté spinach with garlic, shallot, salt and pepper. Add fresh cream, mix well until creamy.
Place the mixture under the pre-heated grill for 1-2 minutes, or until the top is bubbling and just turning golden-brown.
For the hollandaise, clarify butter. Make a reduction with white wine vinegar, shallots, bay leaf and peppercorn, until the liquid is about one tablespoon. Keep aside.
Pour the eggs in a bowl and cook over a double boiler, whisking it continuously, until it doubles in quantity and forms a stringy consistency. Start adding the clarified butter slowly, and whisk without stopping. Finally add the reduction, lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper.
Arrange the creamy spinach on top of the pan-fried muffins, top with the poached eggs and pour the hollandaise sauce over the top. Grate parmesan cheese on top. Transfer the eggs Florentine onto two serving plates and serve immediately.
(Recipe courtesy: Grzegorz Odolak, Executive Chef, Park Hyatt Chennai)
