Hollandaise Sauce

         Hollandaise is a very classical sauce it is one of the first you learn in culinary school, it is basically an emulsion of egg yolks, clarified butter and an acidic element, a versatile mother sauce, add chopped tarragon it becomes bearnaise, tomato it becomes sauce choron, or lightly whipped cream it becomes sauce mousseline, click here to see the many other variations. 
         It pairs well with pretty much anything, one of my favourites is with poached eggs, spinach and bacon on an english muffin, instead of using ghee I like to use a beurre noisette so there's a beautiful nutty flavour added to it!
         Here's my recipe, I like to use the best ingredients I can sauce, here I am using eggs from our friends farm, Pepe Saya's Ghee, from his butter making master class at celebration cooking with Jessica Pedemont.

My tip: make the reduction before time and leave in the fridge in a kilner jar, you'll get enough for a few batches of sauce!!

For the Hollandaise reduction, 
Ingredients:
250 G Red onion thinly sliced
1/4 Bunch Tarragon
2 Sprigs Thyme
20 G Cracked Black pepper
375 ML White wine
500 ML White wine vinegar

Equipment:
Sharp Knife 
Chopping Board 
Large enough pot to fit all ingredients
Kilner Jar

Method:
1. Put everything together and bring to boil reduce by 1/3 
2. Jar and store in the fridge

For the Hollandaise Sauce,
Ingredients:
1 Whole egg
2 Egg yolk
35 G Hollandaise reduction
300 G Ghee
To taste Salt
Small pinch Cayenne
1/4 Lemon juice
To taste Black pepper    

Equipment:
Medium sized pot with 1 inch of simmering water for baine marie 
Rounded bowl that fits onto pot
Balloon whisk
Small pot for warming ghee
Tea towel 

Method:
1. Put the whole egg, yolk and hollandaise reduction into the bowl whisk to combine.
2. Over the baine marie, whisk the egg mixture till it doubles in size and you can leave a figure 8 on top of the sabayon that lasts for 3 seconds.
3. Remove from the heat, place on tea towel folded into 4(this will stop it slipping around. Warm the Ghee to about 40 c.
4. In a slow steady stream pour the ghee into the sabayon whilst whisking very fast this will emulsify the sauce and ensures it won't split. (If it does split, then you can save it by whisking one extra egg yolk and slowly pouring the split mixture into this egg yolk, until all the mix is emulsified).
5. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and cayenne.
6. Taste and adjust and taste again if necessary. To store put a cartouche on top, to stop a skin forming.