Day 17

Given that we live up a mountain in rural Spain, we tend to have a lot of guests from the homeland.  I cook a LOT and have finally perfected Gazpacho Andaluz for summer lunchtimes but the meal that guests always, always ask for is fillet of beef on the barbie with fries, asparagus and my cheat’s bearnaise sauce.  I really don’t have the patience for making proper bearnaise (I said I cook a lot, I didn’t say I’m that good at it!) but I love the flavour of it, so Nigella changed my life when she admitted to occasionally making a cheat’s version.

You need:
3 egg yolks
1 tsp of dried tarragon
A pack of butter (I use salted), softened and cut into small chunks

Using a bain marie, starting whisking the eggs with the tarragon and then, adding one chunk at a time, whisk the butter into the eggs.  It’s as simple as that.  I use as much butter as I feel we’ll use (we tend to pour it over everything on our plates) but each to their own.  It’s often hard to find fresh herbs in the Spanish supermarkets so we tend to grow our own and I like to add some chopped tarragon leaves into the sauce when it’s finished.  Then it’s a race against time to serve up!