Arnaud’s Eggs Sardou

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 12 freshly cooked artichoke bottoms, still warm, or two 13.5 ounce cans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional, only if using canned artichoke bottoms) 
• 12 large eggs
• 6 English muffins, split and toasted 
• 1 cup Creamed Spinach 
• 1 ½ cups freshly made hollandaise sauce (see below), kept warm in the top of a double boiler over hot water
• Dash of Paprika 

Directions:

If using canned artichoke bottoms, melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the artichoke bottoms and cook gently, turned over once, for about two minutes, just to heat through without browning. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and set aside in a warm place. 
Warm six dinner plates in a low oven and poach the eggs (see below.) Place two toasted muffin halves on each plate, cut side up, and place an artichoke bottom on each one.

Spoon about two tablespoons of creamed spinach into each artichoke bottom, and then place a poached egg on top. Ladle about one-fourth cup Hollandaise Sauce over the top of each egg and sprinkle with a little paprika, for color. Serve immediately. 

Hollandaise Sauce

Yields about 1 ¼ cup

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 large egg yolks
• Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground white pepper 
• Ice cubes, if needed 
• ½ cup warm clarified butter 
• 2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 

Directions:

In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the water, egg yolks and a pinch of salt. Whisk constantly over low heat until the mixture is foamy and thick enough to form a ribbon when the whisk is pulled from the mixture. It should be pale yellow with the consistency of a thin yogurt. Be ready to pull the pan off the heat and have an ice cube or two on hand. If the mixture goes beyond the thick and creamy stage and appears even a little bit granular, quickly drop an ice cube into the mixture and whisk it in. When the mixture has reached the correct foamy consistency, cool the pan by tipping it to the side and carefully holding the base of the pan under cold running water for a few seconds. This will stop the sauce from cooking any further.

Off the heat, begin adding the warm clarified butter drop by drop, whisking all the time. Add the butter very slowly for about 30 seconds, then add the rest of the butter in a very thin, steady stream whisking until all is incorporated. Whisk in two teaspoons of lemon juice and taste. You should be able to taste the lemon, but it should not overpower the delicate sauce or taste sour. Add more lemon juice bit by bit, if necessary, to achieve the perfect balance. Adjust the seasoning with salt and add a pinch of white pepper. Serve immediately.

How to Pre-Poach Eggs

Directions:

Bring two quarts of water to a simmer in a large saucepan and add four tablespoons of white vinegar. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and place it on the side of the stove. 
Working two at a time so that you can easily keep track of the timing, quickly crack an egg into a small dish, then immediately slop it into the simmering water just above the water’s surface and repeat with the second egg. Cook for three to four minutes, until the whites are just firm and the yolks are still quite soft to the touch. With a slotted spoon, gently retrieve the eggs and lower them into the iced water. Repeat with the remaining eggs, two at a time, leaving the eggs in the ice bath until all of the eggs have been poached.

Gently retrieve the eggs and trim off any ragged edges with kitchen shears, returning them to the cold water. Cover the bowl securely and reserve for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

To warm the eggs at serving time, fill a large shallow dish or baking pan with two inches of boiling water and submerge the poached eggs, in batches if necessary, for one minute. Remove from the hot water bath with a slotted spoon, serve immediately.