Hollandaise sauce is often considered to be almost peerless among sauces. Not necessarily because of its flavour but mostly because it has the reputation of being one of the most difficult sauces to make. In fact most people won’t attempt it and I can’t say that I blame them. When you read all the cookery books, they tell you it has to be made in a pot over a bain marie of hot water, the butter needs to be added slowly and whisked steadily so the egg yokes don’t scramble. That all sounds rather intimidating, particularly if you only have two hands and the success of your meal depends on the hollandaise sauce. In the modern day and age where almost every household has electricity and a hand blender, you can make a smooth, rich and velvety hollandaise sauce in under two minutes without a scrambled egg in sight.
- Melt the butter in a pot without letting it get too hot. Somewhere between 60-70°C should be sufficient.
- Place the egg yolks in a small bowl, add the salt, pepper, vinegar, and lemon juice. Blend with a hand blender.
- Holding the blender in one hand and the pot with the melted butter in the other, keep blending and pour in the melted butter.
- Remove the blender and season the sauce to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
