— instructions —

①

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and bake prosciutto.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) to prepare for the prosciutto. Line the prosciutto slices flat on a wire rack over a baking tray and pop it in the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the prosciutto is browned and crisp. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

②

Make whirlpool.

Begin with the poached eggs. Get a pot and fill with water. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat and add a generous heap of salt. Add the vinegar as well and stir. Once the water just begins to boil, turn the heat down to low-medium. With a whisk, begin swirling water in a circular motion to create a whirlpool. Swirl vigorously so that the whirlpool swirls quickly on it’s own.

③

Crack egg in ramekin and drop in whirlpool.

Crack your eggs in a ramekin or small bowl, one individual egg per bowl. While the whirlpool is still swirling, drop the egg very carefully and slowly into the center of the whirlpool. Let the egg poach in the pot for 5-10 minutes, or until the egg white has solidified. Use a slotted spoon to remove the egg. If you are serving immediately, put the poached eggs on a paper towel and blot to take away excess water. If you are serving later, you can prepare a bowl of water with ice in it to put the poached eggs in and set aside.

④

Blanch asparagus.

Trim the asparagus ends, about 2″ off the ends. Peel asparagus if you would like to get rid of the fibrous texture. Use a vegetable peeler and run it down the asparagus stalks lengthwise to peel the skin. Bring a pot of water to boil and add asparagus. Cook for 5 minutes or until asparagus is cooke through but still crunchy. Remove asparagus and put it straight into an ice bath. Prepare the ice bath by filing a bowl with water and ice. This will help retain the freshness and crunch. Let sit in ice bath for a couple minutes. Blot the excess water out the asparagus before serving.

⑤

Melt butter.

In a small pot, melt the butter over medium heat until it just begins to bubble. Remove the melted butter from heat and discard the white bits as you transfer the butter to another bowl.

⑥

Blend egg, lemon, hot water.

In a food processor, blend egg yolks, fresh lemon juice, and hot water. Blend on medium for 5 minutes.

⑦

Slowly drizzle butter to emulsify.

Begin to drizzle the warm butter into the mixture through the opening at the top of the food processor as the mixture is on medium. Continue to blend for a couple more minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. When the sauce has thickened, add a pinch of cayenne, salt to taste. Here’s where you can adjust the taste to your preference. Add more salt, or lemon juice if desired.

⑧

Assemble benedict.

Assemble the benedict by arranging the halved and pitted avocados flat side up. Lay 3 or 4 stalks of asparagus over the flat side of the avocado and a poached egg on top. Drizzle hollandaise sauce over poached eggs and top with prosciutto chip.