Hollandaise Sauce

The Hollandaise sauce is one of the five main French sauces and is an emulsion of egg yolks, butter and lemon juice, used on vegetables or fish. Named Hollandaise because it was believed to have been inspired by a Dutch sauce used for the king’s state visits to France. Read carefully because the preparation is quite difficult!

Ingredients (for 2)

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • salt & black pepper

Directions

  • Slowly melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat
  • When the butter has completely melted, remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes
  • Skim off the foam from the top with a spoon
  • Slowly pour into a container through a mesh strainer, discarding the milky solid that forms on the bottom of the saucepan
  • Take another saucepan and heat water over medium heat
  • Put the egg yolks in a heat-proof glass or stainless steel bowl (not aluminum) and whisk until fully beaten, light and foamy
  • Fit the bowl over the saucepan of almost simmering water, with heating still set at low / medium
  • Whisk egg yolks until doubled in volume and thick (do not allow the water to boil or the egg yolks will come out scrambled)
  • Add ½ of the lemon juice and whisk
  • Remove the bowl from the heat and start adding the warm clarified butter, a few drops at a time, while whisking constantly (if you add it too quickly, the emulsion will separate)
  • After you combined all of the butter, whisk in the remaining lemon juice and season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper
  • Serve warm immediately after preparation!

Best Served With

Any vegetables or fish courses, perfect for asparagus…

Tips from the Chef

  • Temperature is key: too much heat and the yolks will curdle (180 °F / 82 °C) or the emulsion will separate; too little heat and the emulsion will fail to form, or, once formed, will solidify
  • The water itself should not come in contact with the bottom of the bowl
  • If at the end of the process the sauce is too thick, or if it’s curdling while adding butter, you can adjust the consistency by whisking in a few drops of warm water