Photography by Keiko Oikawa
Sherri Singleton loves to cook up a leisurely brunch, great at any time of day.
There is something wonderfully indulgent about an American-style brunch. Neither breakfast nor lunch, it is usually unstructured and of course can be eaten at anytime of day. More often than not, the meal will comprise of an egg-based main course served with a mixture of sweet and savoury side dishes. It is also customary to have something alcoholic with the meal such as a Mimosa (Buck's Fizz) or a Bloody Mary. Even good freshly squeezed orange juice is always welcome, just on its own.
New Year’s Day is an ideal time for serving brunch and this simple, but impressive Eggs Benedict recipe can be assembled ahead of time, including the poached eggs! Precede with a simple fruit salad perhaps. Closer to serving time, prepare the slightly unorthodox (but foolproof) method for hollandaise sauce. To make it more substantial and if you are feeling energetic, serve some sautéed potatoes on the side. Warm the eggs, toast the crumpets and mix up a pitcher of spicy Bloody Mary. What could be a better way to welcome in the New Year?
Blender Hollandaise Sauce
INGREDIENTS
3 organic egg yolks
2 teaspoons lemon juice, or to taste
white pepper, freshly ground to taste
sea salt, to taste
hot pepper sauce, to taste
125ml hot clarified butter (heat cold butter in a microwave or a saucepan until melted and foamy, set aside for 1 minute, and skim off the clear butter, discarding the milky part)
METHOD
Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, white pepper and salt into a blender. Process the mixture on high for about a minute. With the machine running, add the clarified butter very slowly in a steady stream. This should take about a minute, at which time the sauce should be emulsified and thick. If not continue to process for about 30 seconds more. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding the hot pepper sauce to your taste. Process once more to blend flavours. Serve immediately or keep warm by submerging the blender beaker in a pot of warm (not hot, or it will curdle) water for up to 15 minutes.
Eggs Benedict
(serves 6 – double if you’re really hungry)
Created at Delmonico's restaurant in New York in the 1920s, this dish has become the quintessential American brunch dish and lends itself to improvisation - feel free to substitute toasted country-style bread or bagels for the crumpets and in place of the Parma ham, you can use bacon or even decadent smoked salmon. The poached eggs can be set upon steamed spinach, roasted tomatoes or mushrooms. Hollandaise sauce can be flavoured with orange zest or fresh herbs such as dill, chives or tarragon or topped with a grating of Parmesan cheese. Variations are infinite. But the basics are:
INGREDIENTS
6 crumpets, toasted and kept warm
6 slices Parma ham, warmed
6 poached eggs, well drained (recipe follows)
Hollandaise sauce (recipe as before)
METHOD
Place the crumpets on warmed plates or serving platter and arrange slices of Parma ham over each. Set a poached egg on top of each slice of ham and top with warm hollandaise sauce. Serve immediately, offering extra sauce, if desired.
Poached Eggs (advance method)
Heat 8 cm water in a large saucepan over a medium heat until simmering. Add 2 tablespoons cider or wine vinegar. Crack a fresh large organic egg into a ramekin (or small cup) and slide into the simmering water. Repeat carefully as quickly as possible. If an egg sinks to the bottom of the pan, do not disturb it. Wait until it is nearly set before dislodging it with a slotted spoon. Keep the water at a steady simmer, not allowing it to boil. Cook until the whites are set and the centres are still quite soft, but not runny. Remove the eggs with a large slotted spoon and drop eggs into a bowl of cool water to stop the cooking. Refrigerate the eggs in the water until needed.
When ready to serve, heat 8 cm fresh water in the large saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Carefully drain each of the poached eggs and slide into the simmering water. Once the eggs are fully poached, after about 3 minutes, lift out of the water with a slotted spoon and remove to a tray lined with a clean tea cloth or napkin. Allow to quickly drain and if desired, trim the edges of the whites with kitchen scissors or a knife. Serve immediately.
Spicy Bloody Marys
(serves 6)
The Bloody Mary is an American Sunday morning wake-up call, and in my opinion, the best of all time I ever enjoyed was at the famous Balboa Café in San Francisco. This recipe is a close second.
INGREDIENTS
1 litre good tomato juice
Juice of one lemon (keep the rind)
2 tbsp horseradish cream or sauce
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco, to taste
375 ml vodka
celery salt
celery stalks with leaves
METHOD
In a large pitcher, combine all the ingredients except the celery salt. To serve, rub the lemon rind around the rims of the serving glasses. Pour a mound of celery salt onto a plate and dip the rims of the glasses in the celery salt, evenly coating the edges. Add ice to each glass and pour in the Bloody Mary mixture. Add a garnish of celery to each glass and serve immediately with extra hot pepper sauce on the side.
North Essex chef-restaurateur Sherri Singleton co-owns the Mistley Thorn dining pub/restaurant/hotel (T: 01206 392821 W: mistleythorn.co.uk) and the Mistley Kitchen cookery school (T: 01206 391545 W: mistleykitchen.com).
Offering authentic wood-fired pizzas, Italy has now come to East Anglia with Lucca, their new restaurant now open on Manningtree High St. (T: 01206 390044).
