Hubby and I just couldn't think of a suitable name for this brunch recipe which described all of its attributes in one snappy title.  It is, after all (and from the bottom up) toasted sourdough bread, tenderstem broccoli, smoked haddock, poached egg and hollandaise sauce.  I defy you to think of some sharp-sounding title, we couldn't!

Now, this recipe is entirely reliant upon you having some leftover Hollandaise sauce available - although I'm quite sure it would work just as well with a knob of butter on top!



I love poached eggs and since discovering that hubby makes a creditable Hollandaise, we've often got a little pot of it lurking in the fridge.  Poached egg on ham, on toast, with Hollandaise - oh yes. 

Provided you are very, very careful and heat it through so, so gently and mix well, there's no reason why you can't have a little pot of Hollandaise too.  I generally put my little pot into the water I've just cooked the egg in, just to take the chill off of it.

So, this beautiful stack of loveliness is hubby's creation.  He is a great one for using fish in every which way he can - and my goodness but it worked well here.



Our local supermarket is currently selling perfectly sized portions of smoked haddock, all neatly packaged in a little microwaveable bag with its own pat of butter and quite affordable at the moment at a special offer price of 99p.  Just a couple of minutes in the microwave, slit the top and you've got a perfect piece of fish - which is just the job for this recipe.

So, once you've cut your bread and put it on to grill, chucked the fish into the microwave and got it twirling, the only thing left to do is put the kettle on for some boiling water for the tenderstem and the egg.  Once it boils (and I recommend getting the heat on under the saucepan, so as not to knock all the heat out of the water by pouring it into a cold pan) three to four minutes later your tenderstem is done and you've a lovely poached egg to go on top. 

Drop your little bit of Hollandaise in its pot into the hot water and seconds later it's ready to drizzle over the top.  After that, it's just an assembly job!

You don't even need to butter your toast - depending on how much Hollandaise you've got.  Just pop it onto a plate, lay the tenderstem across the toast, then the fish on top of that, the egg crowns the lot and the Hollandaise drizzles beautifully across everything.  Knockout!

Hubby is sensitive to eggs (although he could handle the Hollandaise) so he made one for himself that didn't have the poached egg.  I reckon that it looks every bit as tasty and inviting as the poached egg version - so if you're egg sensitive too, why not go for the egg-free version and pop a knob of butter on top of your fish.  Delicious!

I can see this recipe appearing again at the weekends, for lunch.  Our son  was quite distraught that he'd missed it because he was at school.  Ooops!

Cherries are back in the shops and  I didn't have to think too hard about whether to get some.  You see, we all love cherries and any cherry coming into our kitchen isn't going to last terribly long.  Not even long enough to put its suitcase down and enquire after crumble mixtures.

So.  What to do with these lovely cherries, that might do them rather more justice than simply scoffing them until they're all gone and just a particularly lovely memory?

On went the thinking cap and I started with the usual question of "what flavours go particularly well with cherries?".  Well chocolate was the first one to immediately spring to mind, quickly followed by alcohol (red wine, port and Kirsch, for instance) and cream.  Sounded like the bones of a very acceptable dessert, to me!

Having had a rummage in the alcohol corner - no, we don't have a wine cellar (what are you like?) - it seemed we had both red and white wine and no Kirsch, but we did have some Creme de Cassis which seemed to me to be something of a better prospect.  Kirsch can be a bit harsh sometimes, I think, whereas the softness of the blackcurrant Creme de Cassis would complement the flavour of the cherries.

Now, what about the chocolate?  Milk or dark?  Hmmmn, cherries and dark chocolate always speak of luxury and decadence, to me.  If I was to make a mousse or a kind of ganache with the chocolate and lay that on top of some soused or macerated cherries?  Aha!  I think we have it!

So I got on with macerating the cherries by stoning them (at which point I was glad I didn't have so very many, as I don't have a cherry stoner!) and mixing them through with two dessertspoons (and a bit for luck) of Creme de Cassis.  I then left them to get thoroughly drunk for the next two hours.

Next job was to make up the chocolate component, which was so diabolically easy that I am sure I shall be making this again.  Basically, it involves melting some 85% dark chocolate in a bowl over some simmering water but without stirring it more than once. 

Then, set it to one side to cool slightly whilst you divide the cherries up amongst the dishes - I used glass bowls so that you could see the lushness within - and then stir Greek yoghurt and runny honey into the chocolate.  Once it is mixed through, divide up into the bowls, sprinkle with a little more chocolate and chill.

From being a soft, mousse like consistency, the chocolate sets up into more of a firm ganache type of consistency.  However, once you get a little onto your tongue it just melts and the flavour of the chocolate, with the flavour of the cherries is just beyond divine.

You get a hint of the almost smokiness of the honey, with the tang of the Greek yoghurt, all smoothed over by the unctuous chocolate, which is then washed away with the cherry juice and smooth, gentle liqueur.  Fabulous.

If you're not a person who has alcohol in the house - do not despair!  I am sure that if you were to use a cordial - cherry, blackcurrant, or even elderflower would be nice and every bit as good as the liqueur.

In the same way, if you find 85% dark chocolate to be too dark for your taste, then lighten it up a bit by using a lighter grade of chocolate - I am absolutely sure it would work perfectly.

It seems to be something of a discovery, this recipe.  Both hubby and son & heir despatched their portions with many approving mumbles and murmurs.

As an easy make and one which can be both successfully prepared prior to the event and scaled up numbers-wise, this dessert would be absolutely perfect for a meal with friends, a birthday or any get together where you want to impress.  It impressed the heck out of me, and I made it!