I am a major lover of hollandaise. I think every poached egg or steamed stalk of asparagus deserves to be swathed in a tangy, luscious sauce.

If you’ve ever made it from scratch, however, you know that it is nothing more than pure butter whisked into a thick emulsion with rich egg yolks, with a cursory splash of lemon juice.

Let me just say that I almost never adapt recipes to lighten them up. My approach to food (as a dietitian-slash-butter-enthusiast) is based on enjoying quality, and everything in moderation. I’d rather revel in the real stuff in a smaller serving than have a bigger portion of a mediocre substitute. Mindfulness and drawing true pleasure from eating are important tenets of my foodie credo.

That said…

I’m okay with butter in droves for breakfast from time to time, but I’d like to enjoy hollandaise much more often than that. So I introduced buttermilk to the mix. And guess what? This sauce is delicious in its own right, “light”-ness notwithstanding.

Two yolks, a couple of tablespoons of butter (versus the ten in most recipes…), a bit of flour to thicken and a bit of lemon zest are whisked into buttermilk over a saucepan of simmering water until the mixture becomes thick and creamy.

I will be enjoying eggs benny a whole lot more often now. Like this one, with leftover steak, blue cheese crumbles and green onion…

Ooooh yeah, baby, come to mama.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tbsp flour
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp butter, room temperature
• Salt, to taste

For Steak & Blue Cheese Benny

• Eggs for poaching
• Splash of vinegar
• English muffins, toasted
• Blue cheese, crumbled
• Leftover steak, sliced thinly across the grain
• Green onion or chives, minced

Preparation

1. Whisk buttermilk with flour in a heatproof bowl until smooth. Whisk in egg yolks and lemon zest. Position bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, whisking frequently, until mixture is hot and thickens. Whisk in butter. Serve hot.

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