Eggs Florentine

This dish is a delicious combination of a poached egg with fresh, healthy spinach on an English muffin and topped off with a buttery hollandaise.

Hollandaise sauce

Ingredients

• 100g butter, molten
• 4 egg yolks
• ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard (powdered)
• a pinch of red chili powder
• salt and ground black pepper

Method

Place 100g of the butter into a small saucepan and melt slowly over a gentle heat. Once melted, add the mustard powder, chili powder and pepper.

Place the egg yolks into a bowl and slowly pour in the melted butter, whisking constantly, until the sauce reaches the consistency of heavy cream. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and ground black pepper. Keep the sauce warm by resting the bowl in a pan of lukewarm water.

English Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1.5 tsp package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup melted shortening
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt

Method

Warm the milk in a small saucepan, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. add yeast in to the milk and sugar mixture. Let stand until you see the yeast activate, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and knead to make a soft dough. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place.

Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, or drinking glass place on butter-paper and place the rounds in a warm place to rise.

Place the rounds in a baking tray and bake at 140 C for 15 minutes.

Spinach mix

Ingredients

• 200gm Spinach
• 500ml Milk
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• 75gm butter
• 2 tsp lemon juice/vinegar

Method

Finely chop the garlic and onion; fry until the onions turn golden brown.

Add the spinach and keep stirring until the leaves cook properly

In a separate bowl heat milk to just before boiling point and add lemon juice/ vinegar until the curd separates from the whey.

Strain out the curds and add to the spinach mix.

Season with salt and pepper.

Layering

Cut the muffins in half

Spread the spinach mix on one of the halves

Place a poached egg on top of the spinach mix

Generously add the hollandaise sauce on top of the egg.

Top off with red chili powder for an extra spicy kick