Eggs Florentine

This dish is simple elegance that makes a great breakfast or brunch.

Ingredients

Hollandaise Sauce 3 Egg yolks 1/2 Cup of melted butter Juice of half a lemon Pinch of salt (to taste) Pinch of pepper (to taste) Poached Egg 4 Eggs 2 Tablespoons vinegar 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley (garnish)

Toast 1 slice of bread per egg 1 Tablespoon butter Spinach 2 Cups baby spinach Olive Oil Salt (to taste) Pepper (to taste)

Directions

Hollandaise Sauce

Boil a pot of water to use as a double boiler that will also be used to poach your eggs.

Separate three egg yolks into a bowl or sauce pan and whisk together with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Next, over the boiling water, whisk until the yolks lighten in color, thicken, and almost double in volume. Also, remember to remove your bowl or sauce pan from the heat source if the eggs seem to be getting too hot. The point is to lightly cook the eggs without allowing them to scramble, and controlling your heat will ensure that your finished sauce is silky.

Once the yolks have doubled, begin slowly drizzling and whisking in the melted butter. Do this slowly until all of the butter is added.

Give the sauce a final taste, and adjust seasoning as needed, before giving it a final whisk to bring it to the proper consistency.

Note: Remember to leave your water boiling (this can be a low simmering boil) for pouching your eggs.

Once the sauce has thickened, set it aside so that it’s ready when it’s time to plate.

Toast

You can use any bread that you like for this, but a bread that’s not too hard or crusty when toasted works best.

Prep one slice per person by cutting the bread to a littler larger than the size of a pouched egg. It can be rectangular, square, or circular, depending on your preference.

Once all of your bread is prepped, sauté each side of the bread in a small bit of butter, and set aside for plating (you could also toast the bread in a toaster).

Poached Eggs

Add a tablespoon or two of vinegar to your boiling water and crack your eggs into a bowl to prep them for poaching. You could also crack each egg into separate ramekins to make adding the eggs, one by one, easier.

Once your eggs are prepped, take a spoon and begin stirring the boiling water to create a vortex of sorts. It doesn’t have to be fast, but this bit of circular motion will help give the eggs a nice shape.

With the water spinning in a circular motion, add your eggs one by one to the boiling water and allow to cook until the whites are opaque (about 3-5 minutes).

When the eggs are cooked, carefully remove them with a large spoon, onto an intermediate dish or chopping block. This allows excess water to drain off onto the intermediate dish, rather than on your toast.

Spinach

Sauté your spinach on high heat in a bit of olive oil until it’s lightly wilted. This will take a bout 30 seconds, and when it’s done, set it aside for plating.

Plating

Place a piece of toast in the center of the plate and then place a thin layer of the sautéed spinach on top of the toast. Next, carefully place your pouched egg on top of the layer of spinach.

Finish by spooning a good amount of the Hollandaise sauce over the pouched egg, and finish with a bit of chopped parsley to garnish (basil would be nice as well).