Basics 2 - Hollandaise Sauce

I was always afraid of trying to make Sauce Hollandaise having heard how, supposedly, it is easy to make a complete pigs ear of it. To be honest, if you follow the instructions and do not let the mixture boil, it is easy. The sauce makes all the difference to fish, vegetables, especially asparagus and, in Eggs Benedict, makes a marvelous breakfast (or brunch with a decent pint as I used to enjoy it in Cape Town).

For this sauce you will need:

250g butter (we will use this melted so leave it out of the fridge to go soft)
4 egg yolks
3 tbsp water (or asparagus water if you are going to serve it over asparagus)
1 tbsp wine vinegar
1/2 lemon

1 finely chopped shallot
Seasoning

In small pan, reduce the finely chopped onions/shallots, water and vinegar to about a third of the original volume. Strain the juice out through a sieve and let it cool.
Place a steel mixing bowl over a pot of hot, not quite boiling water, and whisk up the eggs and the cooled reduction. Pour the melted butter a dribble at a time into the mixture and whisk away using a balloon whisk. Make sure that the melted butter is fully incorporated before adding more. Keep an eye on the heat, we do not want scrambled eggs. Keep adding and mixing until you have a nice, creamy mayonnaise like consistency. Add salt and pepper and a squirt of lemon juice to taste. It really should be served fairly soon thereafter.