Although hollandaise sauce is amazingly good, it is a guilty please given that it has a half a cup of butter in it. While I was enjoying the asparagus with a poached egg in hollandaise sauce earlier in the week, the lemony nature of the sauce reminded me of another lemony sauce, avgolemono sauce . An avgolemono sauce is a Greek egg and lemon based sauce that is really tasty without all of the butter. In addition to the egg and the lemon juice, avgolemono needs a liquid and that liquid is commonly the liquid of dish that you will be adding the sauce to, though you could always use a broth or a stock. Since I would be serving my avgolemono sauce on asparagus I used the water that I cooked the asparagus in as the liquid in the sauce. Normally an avgolemono sauce would be finished with this but I commonly associate dill and capers with lemony sauces and I could not resist adding some to this one. Of course you can turn this from a side dish to a light meal that is perfect for breakfast or brunch by topping it off with a poached egg.
Asparagus with a Poached Egg in a Dill and Caper Avgolemono Sauce
ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus (trimmed and cleaned)
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- 1/2 lemon (juice)
- 1 tablespoon dill chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 eggs
directions
- Cook the asparagus in boiling water until it just turns dark green, about 2 minutes.
- Drain the water, reserving 1/2 cup of it.
- Rinse the asparagus under cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside.
- Whisk the egg in bowl until frothy.
- Slowly whisk in the lemon juice followed by the reserved asparagus water.
- Heat in a small sauce pan while whisking until the sauce thickens, mix in the dill and capers and remove from heat. (Do not bring it to a boil.)
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and reduce the heat to medium.
- Swirl the water in the pot.
- Crack an egg into a bowl and pour the egg from the bowl into the water. Repeat for the remaining egg.
- Let the eggs cook until the whites are set but the yolks are not, about 2-3 minutes and fish them out.
- Split the asparagus between two plates, top with the poached eggs and the dill and caper avgolemono sauce.
Asparagus with a Poached Egg in Hollandaise Sauce
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Pan Seared Tilapia in Avgolemono Sauce
Asparagus and Walnut Phyllo Pie (aka Asparagus Baklava) with Avgolemono Sauce
Cod Wrapped in Crispy Potatoes with a Dill and Caper Sauce
Quinoa Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Pesto, Goat Cheese and a Poached Egg
Jane says
May 29, 2010 at 1:48 amThis looks fantastic without being too "guilt-inducing." Will have to try it for lunch!
Shayne says
May 29, 2010 at 2:05 amwow that dish made a great picture
saveur says
May 29, 2010 at 2:05 amOoh, this looks so tasty and a healthier alternative to Hollandaise. 🙂
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
May 29, 2010 at 6:43 amA terrific combination! I love that addition of Avgolemono sauce. Perfect!
Cheers,
Rosa
Just My says
May 29, 2010 at 8:05 amyour pics are totally awesom!
Joanne says
May 29, 2010 at 11:04 amDill and capers are a fabulous addition to the avgolemono sauce. That second picture is absolutely fabulous!
lo says
May 29, 2010 at 1:26 pmYesterday I spend few hours with your blog. It's the BEST. Congratulation.
SKIZO says
May 29, 2010 at 3:24 pmGreat
Work
good
sources
of
Inspiration
Adventures in Domestic Cooking says
May 29, 2010 at 4:16 pmFantastic!! Wow, looks so good.
Totally going to make that=)
katerina says
May 29, 2010 at 5:21 pmI really, really need to try asparagus with a poached egg. Your pictures are mouth watering!
Anonymous says
May 29, 2010 at 6:23 pmI'm so glad to find out about the avgolemono sauce! I had never heard of it, and it sounds right up my alley.
kimberleyblue says
May 29, 2010 at 6:39 pmReally nice photos in this post! What a great idea for a sauce for asparagus and egg; challenges hollandaise for sure!
Jenn says
May 29, 2010 at 8:17 pmI have never seen an avgolemono sauce before, what an awesomely delicious alternative to hollandaise! Beautiful photo too, the asparagus tips are literally popping out of the screen!
Michelle says
May 30, 2010 at 2:30 amthese are awesome pictures! and it looks so delicious
Kait says
May 30, 2010 at 2:22 pmGreat sauce. It looks just as delicious as the hollandaise.
Tanusree says
May 31, 2010 at 8:41 amroom-mate and me tried out your recipe for Sunday lunch and it turned out yummy !! Thanks for the recipe.
pigpigscorner says
May 31, 2010 at 10:35 amLove your first click!
Anonymous says
June 1, 2010 at 12:06 pmwow, that first photo is really amazing… i love it!
Sippity Sup says
June 1, 2010 at 2:57 pmoh my that speaks to me on so many levels. it's so easy to think Hollandaisse but you have proven there are so many other creative choices! GREG
Antonatos, Esq. says
October 16, 2012 at 3:01 amToday I wondered whether Greek Avgolemono Sauce and Hollandaise Sauce are the same thing.
Antonatos, Esq. says
October 16, 2012 at 3:03 amToday I wondered whether Greek Avgolemono Sauce and Hollandaise Sauce are the same thing.