Come on punk, make my day – eggs benedict, a Carmel tradition

Carmel-by-the-sea in California has a Sunday tradition, which is nothing to do with Clint Eastwood, although on the occasions when I have indulged in this ritual, it really has made my day. Brunch at Katy’s Place, Mission Street is an experience not to be missed and definitely rates 5 Kimmy stars. http://www.katysplacecarmel.com/. Any restaurant where they do 16 types of Eggs Benedict has to be amazing in my opinion. They also serve the largest portions I have ever seen in my life, so key advice is to go there extremely hungry. So how do you make a simple Eggs Benedict?  A classic combination is toasted muffin, sliced ham or crispy bacon and a poached egg topped with hollandaise sauce.

First put your bacon under the grill, so that it will be cooked and crispy, then make your hollandaise sauce. I have really tried to find a suitable ready-made alternative, but it just doesn’t exist (Let me know if you have found one!!!) Place 2 egg yolks in a food processor, or whisk using a hand blender, with a little salt. In a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, as soon as it is really hot, switch the processor on again and drizzle the mixture in. Now place 110g/4ozs of salted butter in the saucepan and heat gently until really hot, but make sure it doesn’t brown. Switch your processor on again and drizzle the hot butter in and voila, you have Hollandaise. Delia Smith adds her whisked egg whites to the mixture afterwards, and if you like a light texture this works well.  Now, you will need a toasted muffin, actually I prefer crumpets and a poached egg. Poach your egg either by using poaching pods, those clever little silicone ones, or try using the traditional method of boiling a pan of salted water then reducing it to a very gentle simmer (enough to cover the eggs) add a teaspoon of white wine vinegar (this helps the white to set quicker round the edges), break you egg in to a cup first and gently slide in to the water, if your water is too hot, the white will separate. Leave for 1 minute, then put a lid on the pan and turn off the heat. Time for 3 to 5 minutes depending on how firm you like your yolk (delia says leave up to 10 minutes). The key thing to remember is that you MUST use fresh eggs, less than 4 days old or they will not poach properly.  Finally, assemble your Eggs Benedict and prepare to indulge, this just cries out for a buck’s fizz on the side. One of my favourite variations, courtesy of Katy’s Place, is to substitute the bacon with sliced turkey breast and add several slices of avocado. Save up the calories, it’s worth it!

A final note, by request was how to cook the perfect boiled egg, because let’s be honest, boiled egg and soldiers is not just for small children. So, place 1 large egg in a pan full of COLD water, enough to cover the egg. Place on high heat and as soon as it starts to boil, set the timer for 3 minutes and 15 seconds, once completed remove from the heat, drain and run under the cold tap to stop it cooking anymore. This is the perfect, runny, but not under-cooked egg. For a small egg, set timer for 3 minutes, for extra large, 3 minutes 30 seconds. Have a great weekend everyone!

P.S. Are you impressed how I’ve resisted all egg-based puns in this blog? It was egg-strordinarily difficult. Ooops.