Spoil your family with a lovely brunch with Bondi Trattoria’s toasted muffins with grilled prawns, chilli kale, poached eggs and hollandaise. This will definitely give you the cafe brunch experience from the comfort of your own home.
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 english muffins
8 poached eggs
16 large prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/2 bunch chives, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Hollandaise reduction
olive oil, for pan-frying
3 French shallots, chopped
3 garlic cloves, sliced
300 ml (101/2 fl oz) white wine
500 ml (17 fl oz) white wine vinegar 2 teaspoons dried tarragon leaves 4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon white peppercorns
1/2 bunch fresh tarragon
Hollandaise sauce
3 egg yolks
50 ml (13/4 fl oz) hollandaise reduction
200 ml (7 fl oz) warm, melted clarified butter or ghee
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced
Chilli kale
2 tablespoons butter
2 French shallots, finely diced
2 large curly kale leaves, roughly chopped 1/2 teaspoons chilli paste
Method
Hollandaise reduction
Heat a saucepan over low heat with a splash of olive oil. Add the shallot and garlic and cook gently for 2–3 minutes without browning. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the fresh tarragon, and allow to reduce by three-quarters. Once the liquid has reduced, add the fresh tarragon and remove from the heat.
Cover with plastic wrap and cool overnight in the fridge. Strain, discarding the solids. The remaining liquid can be stored in an airtight container for up to six months.
Hollandaise sauce
Place the egg yolks and hollandaise reduction in a clean metal bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Begin whisking at 30-second intervals, taking the bowl on and off the heat (so it doesn’t get too hot), until the mixture holds its shape when you make a ‘figure eight’ for more than 6 seconds.
Slowly add the warm clarified butter to the mixture, whisking constantly. If the mixture is too thick, add a little hot water to thin it out. Add the cayenne pepper and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and mix to combine. Keep in a warm place, covering the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming.
Chilli kale
Place the butter and shallots in a frying pan over medium heat and cook for 1–2 minutes. Add the kale and cook for a further 2–3 minutes. Stir in the chilli paste and cook for a further 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
Bondi Trattoria, New Holland Publishers RRP $45.00 available from all good book retailers or online.
