Hollandaise sauce is one of the five mother sauces in classical French cooking that is traditionally made with egg yolks, butter, and either lemon juice or white wine vinegar.  A creamy, decadent sauce that pairs well with egg dishes or even fish, this sauce is an impressive way to liven up a variety of presentations.  Hollandaise sauce is one of the first things you learn to make in culinary school; it is all about technique and well honestly, luck.  You learn to make it in a stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water and while constantly whisking egg yolks in the bowl along with the acid of your choice, you then begin to slowly emulsify the sauce with clarified, melted butter.  This sauce does not hold together for too long after it is made, so you have to time its preparation just right.

In my own kitchen I have learned to make a nice blender hollandaise sauce which is just as delicious but much simpler. No culinary school instructor standing over you as you furiously whisk away at a perfect emulsion, just you, a few simple ingredients and your trusty blender.  I had settled into the idea that the blender-version of hollandaise is the way to go…that is, until I stumbled across this version of grapefruit-scented hollandaise sauce in Martha Stewart Living magazine.  Not only is this version simpler because you basically whisk all of the ingredients in one saucepan, no double-boiler necessary, but there is absolutely no butter involved.  No joke, a hollandaise sauce made with extra virgin olive oil instead of butter, that is just as decadent and creamy as the traditional version.  French culinary traditionalists may turn their nose up at this version, but not me!  I’m pretty sure this healthier version of the classic will be my new version-of-choice.  All of the flavor and texture of the original, but healthier?  What could be better than that?!

 

(To view this recipe from Martha Stewart Living, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

Tagged: extra virgin olive oil, French sauce, grapefruit juice, grapefruit zest, hollandaise, Martha Stewart Living, mother sauce, sauce