Valentine's Day can easily be a bit too much, but there really is nothing wrong with taking some time to appreciate and spoil your loved one.
This year, get up slightly earlier and treat your special someone to a beautiful breakfast and a glass of bubbly!
Chef Eric shares a delightful savoury take on waffles with smoky bacon, eggs with their sunny side up and the creamiest of hollandaises...
Savoury Breakfast Waffle Recipe:
Waffle mix:
300 ml Milk
80 g Butter
250 g Cake flour
20 ml Baking powder
3 ml Salt
3 Eggs - separated
40 g Sugar
Add 250 ml (1 cup) milk and 80 g cubed butter to a pot.
Bring to a boil and remove from heat when the butter has melted.
Into a large bowl, sift 250 g cake flour, 10 ml (2 tsp) baking powder and 3 ml (½ tsp) salt.
Whisk 3 egg yolks (reserving the whites) into the warmed milk mixture.
Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold through gently.
Whisk the reserved 3 egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into the batter.
Cook in a waffle pan, until browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat this step with the remaining batter.
Hollandaise
Reduction base
750 ml white wine
500 ml white wine vinegar
2 banana shallots, sliced
2 pepper corns
1 sprig of thyme
Lightly sweat the shallots, peppercorn and thyme (no colour)
Add the wine and vinegar and reduce by two thirds. Reserve in a jar till ready to use. This reduction will keep very well in the refrigerator.
2 egg yolks
250 ml clarified butter
15 ml reduction base
seasoning
Whisk the yolk and reduction base over a bain-marie to ribbon stage.
Take off the heat and slowly add the butter while whisking continuously till a emulsified thick sauce has formed. Season to taste.
Bacon and eggs
250 g Smoked Bacon
2 Free Range eggs
Place bacon on a oven cooling rack and place in a oven tray. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius to reach desired crispness.
Fry the eggs in a non-stick frying pan. "I like to add a little knob of butter to the pan and season the eggs as they gently fry", says Chef Eric.
Place bacon on the waffle and top with eggs and sauce.
Enjoy with a glass of our recently released 2015 La Motte MCC.
