Smoked Trout with Poached Eggs and Hollandaise Sauce

Smoked Trout with Poached Eggs and Hollandaise Sauce

Step 1

First make your hollandiase sauce. Very slowly melt the butter in a pot over a low heat. Once fully melted, pour off the golden butter fat into a separate saucepan leaving the milky proteins behind. Keep the melted butter warm while you heat a pot of water until simmering. Place the egg yolks, a pinch of salt, and vinegar in a bowl (large enough to fit over the pot of water) and whisk together until combined. Place on top of the simmering water and continue to whisk until the yolks thicken ( this should take three to five minutes). Take off the heat and add the melted butter, in a slow trickle, while whisking continuously. The sauce will gradually become thick and creamy. Finish with a squeeze of lemon. Cover and keep warm while you poach your eggs.

Step 2

Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Reduce the heat and swirl the water with a whisk. Crack one egg into a small bowl and gently slide into the whirlpool of water; quickly repeat with the remaining three eggs (at this stage the water should be bubbling very gently). Cook for approximately three minutes.

Step 3

To serve, divide the cold smoked trout between two warm plates of buttered toast. Top each pile of trout with two poached eggs and spoon over the hollandaise sauce. Garnish with some thinly sliced fennel if you wish and season with cracked black pepper.