Eggs Benedict is one of my favorite breakfast dishes. It was created at the Waldorf Hotel in 1894, for a customer hoping to find a cure for his morning hangover. I thought it was one of those dishes that should only be ordered in a restaurant until I found this recipe. Keep in mind that your eggs should be fresh and no more then 4 days old for perfect results. It is not as hard as it looks and what could be better then starting your day with a lightly toasted English muffin with a perfectly poached egg in a cloud of buttery hollandaise! Sheer heaven!
03The key to a perfect poached egg is to keep the water at a bare simmer throughout the cooking. Place a small frying pan over gentle heat and add enough boiling water to fill it to 1 inch. Keep the heat gentle.
04Once you see tiny bubbles on the bottom of the pan, carefully break the eggs, one at a time, into the water and let them barely simmer, without covering, for exactly 1 minute. Use a timer.
05After one minute, remove the pan from the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water and set timer for 10 minutes. This timing will give perfect results for a beautifully translucent, perfectly set white and a soft, creamy yolk.
06Remove eggs, one at a time, with slotted spoon and let the spoon rest for a few seconds on a sheet of paper towel to absorb the excess water.
07When the pancetta is cooked, keep it on a warm plate while you lightly toast the split muffins on both sides. Butter the muffins and place them on the baking tray, then top each half with two slices of pancetta. Put a poached egg on top of each muffin half and spoon over the hollandaise, covering the egg (there should be a little over 1 tablespoon of sauce for each egg).
08Flash the Eggs Benedict under the grill for just 25-30 seconds, as close to the heat as possible, but don't take your eyes off them – they need to be tinged golden and no more. This should just glaze the surface of the hollandaise.