Eggs Benedict For Brunch - The Cheat's Way!

Step 1: First make the cheat's Hollandaise sauce! Heat the butter over a low heat and then add all of the other ingredients, but not the herbs. Whisk the sauce over a low heat until it has the consistency of a good coating sauce and then add the finely chopped herbs, leaving a few to one side for the garnish later on. Keep the sauce warm over a very low heat, or cover and reheat just before serving.

Step 2: Lightly toast the one muffin halves on both sides. Top each toasted muffin half with the slices of ham and set aside. (Leave the other muffins to toast later, to serve with the eggs Benedict.)

Step 3: Fill a deep frying pan up to 10cm deep with water and add the vinegar. Bring the water to the boil, reduce the heat to very low so that the water is simmering very gently. Crack each egg in turn into a ramekin or a teacup, carefully slide the egg from the ramekin/teacup into the simmering water and poach each egg for 3 minutes only. Whilst the eggs are poaching, toast the remaining muffins and butter them, keep them warm if necessary.

Step 4: Gently remove the poached eggs from the water using a slotted spoon. Top each muffin with a poached egg and then spoon a portion of warm Hollandaise sauce evenly over each egg. Season with freshly ground pepper and garnish with the remaining chopped herbs and serve at once, with the other toasted muffins halves, as well as a few wild salad leaves if you like.

Step 5: OPTIONAL: Some people like to place the eggs Benedict under a hot grill for a minute or two at the serving stage, if you want to do this, then here is what to do; Place eggs Benedict under a hot grill and grill until the Hollandaise sauce is golden brown. Season with freshly ground pepper and serve at once as before.