Hello from Dublin.

I’ve been living here the past two months and couldn’t be happier. The city is cozy with low buildings and big gorgeous park, and the people are the best I’ve met, cheerful and loving.

I miss many things from Albania though, as I say, happiness is homemade and that tiny corner of the world is my home.

One of the first things someone notices visiting Dublin is it’s big brunch culture, so I thought my first post should be all about that, a classic brunch with eggs and hollandaise sauce dripping over it, eggs Florentine. I hope you’re tempted enough to make it yourself and enjoy it with your loved ones.

Eggs Florentine

Ingredients

Eggs & spinach

2 handfuls of spinach
4 slices of your favorite bread
4 eggs
A drizzle of olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Hollandaise sauce

2 egg yolks
70-100 g butter
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt & Pepper

Instructions

The hollandaise sauce should be the last to make, this because it thickens quick and you want it nice and creamy to pour it over your eggs. I followed Jamie Oliver technique and tips to make it. Check it here.

Eggs & spinach

Spinach

Clean the spinach, drain well and chop it with your hands in big parts.
Place a medium pan over high heat, add just a drizzle of olive oil and saute the spinach until wilted.
Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Poached eggs

Use a deep saucepan to heat the water (medium heat). Once the water has started to simmer, but had not reached the boiling point add the vinegar.
Crack one of your eggs in a cup and carefully pour it in the simmering water.
Depending on the pan, a really soft poached egg should take around 2 minutes and a soft to firm one will need 4 minutes to set.
Repeat the process with the other eggs. When they’re ready, remove them to some kitchen paper to dry off.
Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Hollandaise sauce

Hollandaise is a bit tricky to make, but it’s so worth it. It’s practically egg yolks cooked a bain marie and emulsified with melted butter.

Place a dip pan over medium heat and add a little bit of water (2-3 cm).
In another pan add butter and let it melt and get nice and hot.
Once the water, in the dip pan starts getting hot, place the egg yolks in a big glass bowl and put it over the saucepan making sure that the base of the bowl does not touch the water.
Lower the heat to low.
Beat the egg yolks continuously until they double in size and start adding the melted butter, little by little.
Keep mixing while you’re adding the butter so the mixture emulsifies.
Check if the sauce has reached your preferred consistency. I like it on the thinner side, since it starts getting thicker while cooling.
Once it’s ready, season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the dish add some cooked spinach over each slice of bread, add eggs and pour hollandaise sauce on top.