Purple-sprouting broccoli with eggs and hollandaise

Serves 2-4 Starters and mains

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Method

For the hollandaise sauce, bring a pan of water to a simmer. Put the hollandaise vinegar and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl and sit it over the pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk vigorously until the egg yolks start to cook and the mixture thickens. Once the whisk creates ribbons in the mixture, remove from the heat but keep whisking for another 30 seconds.

Put the melted butter in a jug and trickle the butter into the pan very slowly, still whisking constantly. Add the lemon juice and season well with salt and pepper, then set aside to keep warm while you cook the eggs and broccoli.

Bring a pan of water to the boil with a good pinch of salt, gently lower in the eggs and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan, keeping the water in the pan, and peel the eggs while still hot, then cut in half. Put the broccoli in the same pan and cook for 3–4 minutes until the stems go slightly limp. Remove and set aside.

Put the knob of butter in a frying pan set over a medium heat, add the shallot rings and fry until just starting to turn golden. Add the cooked broccoli and toss in the pan with some salt and pepper.

Arrange on a platter with the boiled eggs, drizzle the hollandaise sauce over, garnish with a few rocket leaves and sprinkle a pinch of smoked paprika over to serve.

Hollandaise vinegar

Put all the ingredients in a stainless-steel pan and simmer for 20 minutes.

Pour into a 500ml sterilised jar and seal. It will keep, unopened, for 5–6 months and, once opened, will keep in the fridge for up to a week.