Wondering what to do with your leftover bearnaise sauce after making my steak frites with Bearnaise? Well, worry no more because I’ve got your back on this! You can use that leftover sauce to create some delicious Steamed Artichokes with Bearnaise Butter. Poached egg technically optional but really…you know you want it!
Artichokes Are My Spirit Vegetable
“Artichokes again?” asked the fussiest eater in the world. “I don’t know why you keep making them. They’re such hard work”.
“They may be hard work. But they are worth it. And if you think about, treat ’em wrong and they might kill you. Treat ’em right and they make everything sweeter…in fact they are a lot like me. I think artichokes are my spirit vegetable”.
The more I think about it the more I am convinced that artichokes are my spirit vegetable. Why else, for no apparent reason, years ago did I buy a little ceramic artichoke? It’s all becoming clear now though, it was my spirit vegetable calling to me!
I fear lockdown may be making me lose my mind.
I did a quiz to prove that my spirit vegetable is an artichoke The quiz said I was a mushroom so it was obviously wrong. It also said that people may find me pretentious and depressing. As Marcel Proust said, “What a load of bollocks. I am a fucking joy to be around!”*.
If you would like to do a quiz that not very accurately tells you what your spirit vegetable is you can find one here.
Bearnaise Butter?
So, bearnaise sauce is a bitch of a thing to reheat. So, if you want to use some leftover “sauce” you can pop your sauce container into a little saucepan full of water and gently heat it up, whisking the whole time. The result will not exactly be a Bearnaise sauce but it will be an amazingly tasty thick melted butter just perfect for drizzling over your artichokes or seafood or chicken or asparagus. You could also pout it over your Eggs Benny instead of Hollandaise. But only if you then call then Eggs Bearnie.
A (Helpful?) Tip
You can use a melon baller to help scrape the choke out of your artichoke.
It is by no means mandatory but it is fun, while doing this, to sing that Skee-Lo song “I wish I was taller, wish I was a baller, wish I had a girl who looked good, I would call her”.
To be honest though, this works any time you use a melon baller, not just for artichokes.
The Recipe – Steamed Artichokes with Bearnaise Butter
Steamed Artichokes with Bearnaise Butter
A great way to use leftover Bearnaise Sauce
- 4 Artichokes
- 4 Eggs, poached (Optional)
- 1 Lemon
- 1 serve Leftover Bearnaise Sauce
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Halve the lemon and squeeze the juice into a large bowl of cold water.
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Snap off the outer leaves of the first three or four outer layers of leave from bottom of an artichoke. Use a serrated knife to cut off the stem at the base and the top half of each artichoke.
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Using a small spoon or melon baller, scrape out the choke and any sharp leaves from the centre of the artichoke.
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Repeat Steps 2 & 3 for all the artichokes
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Drop the cleaned artichokes into the acidulated water as soon as they are trimmed.
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Tip the lemon water into the bottom of steamer. Add the artichokes to the steamer basket and set over a high heat for around 15 minutes or until the bottom of the artichoke can be easily pierced with a skewer.
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Meantime, warm your bearnaise sauce over a water bath, whisking every now and again to keep the bearnaise as emulified as possible. Do not worry if it splits, we are aiming for flavoured butter not a perfect sauce with this recipe!
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When the artichokes are steamed, pour the bearnaise butter over. Top with a poached egg if using.
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Enjoy!
Have a great week! Here’s some Skee-Lo to get you through!
Stay safe and let me know what your spirit vegetable is!
*Marcel Proust said no such thing.
On record anyway.
