Sprouting and Blood Oranges on a Frosty March Day

1. 1

   Bring a pan of water to a boil and find a heatproof glass or ceramic bowl that will fit neatly into it without actually touching the water.

2. 2

   Drop the yolkslarge, deep orange ones if you have theminto the bowl and then a splash of water.

3. 3

   Whisk, pouring in almost all the melted butter, slowly at first as if you were making mayonnaise, then as the sauce thickens up, a little faster.

4. 4

   The water in the pan should be simmering rather than boiling and if you stop whisking your sauce will fail (though I have occasionally brought it back to life with a splash of simmering water from the pan).

5. 5

   Once it is thick and creamy, squeeze in a little lemon juice and stir in a good pinch of salt.

6. 6

   No pepper.

7. 7

   The sauce can be used as it is.

8. 8

   One late-spring day last year, I got this far, then decided to add the finely grated zest of a blood orange and three tablespoons of thick cream, whisked in at the end.

9. 9

   The idea of bright green vegetables and vivid blood oranges seemed right for a day that saw the garden freckled white with frost and the sky clear and pale gray.

10. 10

    I spooned thick lines of the orange hollandaise over the tiny stems of steamed sprouting and ate it with rounds of grilled ciabatta.

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