Eggs Benedict Honeycomb

It was the weekend of Fathers' Day. The country baked and groaned under temperatures that made it feel like Benidorm. It had been a three day weekend for me and one of making plans and a few decisions; the outcomes of which, I suspected, would make me find out a lot about myself over the coming weeks.

On the player was an obscure Fleetwood Mac record in the form of 1991's "Behind The Mask". The album resides in that interregnum between Lindsey Buckingham's departure, which was shortly followed by that of Stevie Nicks, and the full-fledged reunion in 1997. Nicks is still on this record but  she is overshadowed partly  by the two guitar players parachuted in to replace Buckingham and chiefly by keyboardist/ singer/ iconic siren Christine McVie. This record is very much her baby and her shimmering songs keep it from being a train wreck. The pick of the bunch here is the haunting title track which, with some of my dealings in the preceding weeks, I could well relate to.

On Sunday morning plans had changed, just as they had earlier in the weekend, and I decided to make an indulgent breakfast to set me up for the tea. I'd promised someone important an Eggs Benedict recipe and I made it with one eye on this promise.

Typically the recipe had my own idiosyncratic take on it and in this case it was because the Hollandaise Sauce used the whites of the Eggs as well as the yolks. This in turn made it thicker and gave it the look of Honeycomb.

The ingredients for the Hollandaise Sauce were as follows:

Two beaten Eggs
A teaspoon of dried Tarragon
A pinch of Mustard.
A pinch of Nutmeg
A tablespoon White Wine Vinegar

After beating the Eggs aggressively in a measuring jug, until they resembled a thick golden paste, I added the herbs, spices and White Wine Vinegar. I next melted twenty five grams of Unsalted Butter in a saucepan on the hob. After that I added the ingredients for the sauce and simmered them for five minutes while stirring them with a wooden spoon. Once they'd solidified into a paste I took them off the heat and left them to one side.

In the meantime I'd brought a separate saucepan of water the boil. I did not have an egg poacher so I improvised and used a ladle greased with butter. I added an Egg to the ladle and lowered the ladle into the boiling water without letting the water run over the egg too much. I held it there for about five to six minutes.

I then removed the Egg from the ladle and placed it on top of two Toasting Muffins that were sandwiched with lettuce and two pieces of Serrano Ham. The yolk of the Egg was just right; part runny and part well-done. I drizzled the still warm Honeycomb Hollandaise Sauce on top of the Egg, Muffins, Lettuce and Ham and enjoyed this delicious but indulgent breakfast while my dog snored away on the sofa.

Going for gold: the Honeycomb Hollandaise Sauce sits well with the Egg, Ham and Lettuce while the Muffins are barely visible.