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Butter Dressing
2 raw egg yolks 6 tablespoons butter 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 4 tarragon leaves, chopped fine 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice Put egg yolks with two tablespoons butter in saucepan and set over hot water, stir rapidly until butter is melted and sauce begins to thicken; add two tablespoons butter and combine, stirring to a cream, add remainder of butter, a bit at a time, seasonings and minced tarragon leaves. The lemon should be added just before serving.
This is a hollandaise in all but name, thickened over a water bath and flavoured with tarragon rather than a vinegar reduction. It makes roughly 1/2 cup, enough to dress salad greens or vegetables for four.
- The hinge: gentle heatThe water beneath the pan should be hot but not boiling, and the pan should not sit directly in it. Yolks begin to set somewhere around 150-160F; if the base gets much hotter they curdle, and while a curdled sauce can sometimes be coaxed back by whisking in a little cold water or a fresh yolk, plain stirring will not do it.
- Butter in three stagesTwo tablespoons go in with the yolks at the start, two more once the mixture begins to thicken, and the last two a little at a time, which keeps the emulsion from taking on more fat than it can hold at once.
- Egg safetyThe yolks are cooked, but only just. Bring the sauce to 160F on an instant-read thermometer, or use pasteurized eggs if serving anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immune-compromised.
- Butter measureSix tablespoons is 3 oz, three-quarters of a stick. Butter of the period was often salted, so if yours is unsalted you may want more than the quarter teaspoon of salt called for; taste as you go.
- TarragonFour leaves is a modest amount by modern taste. Fresh tarragon varies enormously in strength, so start there and add more once the sauce is finished. Dried tarragon is a poor substitute here since it will not soften in so little liquid.
- Lemon last, and for a reasonLemon last -- The recipe holds the lemon until serving; adding it at the end keeps its flavour fresh and the sauce thick, since acid loosens the texture. Half a teaspoon stirred in off the heat is enough.
- Holding itThe sauce will not reheat. Keep it barely warm in the pan off the heat, covered, for up to half an hour, and whisk briefly before serving. If it begins to separate, a teaspoon of hot water whisked in usually brings it back.
- As a dressingA warm butter sauce dresses sturdy things best: asparagus, green beans, artichokes, romaine hearts. It will wilt delicate leaves within a minute or two, so dress at the table.