salmon gravalax,citrus hollandaise, poached eggs

I own a thermomix, although I wouldn't call myself a fanatical thermomix user.  We all know them. They have the air of a religious zealot about them and wander around making comments like"oh, Thermie came with us on holidays, of course! There was no way I was going to leave him alone in the house for 10 days…" THOSE people.  The ones who fly interstate for the weekend with the machine on their lap and their kids in checked baggage.  And you can't dare suggest there is even one thing the machine doesn't cook brilliantly (although there are several) because it is a member of their family. 

If I was ever to join their ranks though, there would be one reason.

Hollandaise sauce. 

More importantly, the ease at which this machine makes hollandaise sauce.

So when friends come over and they ask me if they should buy a thermomix I say to them, "well, look…do you like Eggs Benedict?" Because that style of sauce - or anything that requires constant stirring over a constant temperature - is what this machine is made to do. Don't believe those who tell you it can do everything…. I once used it to make a bolognaise and it was so bad, I had to throw it out and start again on the stovetop.  But this kind of sauce it just cannot seem to fail at.


Salmon gravalax, citrus hollandaise, poached eggs. Serves 2.

What you'll need:

4 eggs (always free range and I like the 800 gram ones as they seem to work best with my method of poaching.

Six slices of salmon gravalax or smoked salmon

One lemon

4 egg yolks

130 grams cold unsalted butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Two slices of sourdough or brioche, toasted

Salt and Pepper

Sliced chives or spring onions to garnish.

How you'll do it

Throw the egg yolks, butter, salt and pepper and lemon juice into the thermomix.

Insert the butterfly whisk and cook on speed 2 for 10 minutes at 80 degrees. That is ALL YOU HAVE TO DO for perfect sauce. Best of all, if you end up having a poached egg disaster and need to start them over again, you can just leave the sauce stirring away. I once had the hollandaise cooking for 30 minutes and after adding a little water and an extra squeeze of lemon  it still turned out perfectly

To poach the eggs perfectly, put a saucepan of water on the stove with a good splash of white vinegar and heat until it is just below boiling.

Use a spoon to create a whirlpool in the water, then break the eggs into a small teacup or bowl and slide them in to the saucepan. Cook for 3 minutes, lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.

Assemble in this order:
Toast
Salmon
Eggs
Sauce
Garnish