Tomato Hollandaise with the Thermomix® comes out reliably when you stick to three values: 70°C, speed 2 and 2 minutes dripping time for the butter. We whisk 3 egg yolks with 40 g white wine for 2 minutes 30 seconds at 70°C on speed 2, then drip 200 g melted butter through the lid over 2 minutes, and finally mix in 1 tbsp tomato puree with 1 pinch of sugar for 10 seconds on speed 3. The finished sauce is ready in 20 minutes, serves 4 and will not split.
This recipe is our summer version of the classic sauce hollandaise. Fresh cherry tomatoes and basil give the butter sauce a gentle acidity and a herbal note without making it heavy. We serve it with white asparagus, steamed fish or poached eggs. If you are looking for the classic version without tomato, try our Sauce Hollandaise basic recipe with the Thermomix®.
Tomato Hollandaise with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 9 ✓
- 4 cherry tomatoes
- 5 sprigs basil
- 200 g butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 40 g white wine
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 pinch sugar
Instructions 0 / 7
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1
Prepare the tomatoes.
Wash the tomatoes, cut them in half, remove the stalk and cut into pieces.
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2
Prepare the basil.
Wash the basil, pick off the leaves and chop roughly.
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3
Melt the butter.
Place the butter in pieces into the mixing bowl and melt for 3 minutes / 70°C / speed 1, then set aside. Rinse the mixing bowl.
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4
Whisk the hollandaise.
Insert the butterfly whisk into the mixing bowl, add the egg yolks, white wine, salt and pepper and whisk for 2 minutes 30 seconds / 70°C / speed 2.
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5
Add the butter.
Continue stirring for 2 minutes / 70°C / speed 2, pouring the melted butter onto the mixing bowl lid with the measuring cup in place. This allows the butter to drip slowly down into the sauce in the mixing bowl.
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6
Add remaining ingredients and mix.
Add the tomato puree and sugar to the mixing bowl and mix for 10 seconds / speed 3.
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7
Serve.
Fold in the tomatoes and basil using the spatula and serve.
Tip: If you prefer not to use wine, replace it with the same amount of water or vegetable stock.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why 70°C keeps the emulsion stable
Hollandaise is an emulsion of egg yolk and butter. The egg yolk binds the fat, but only within a narrow temperature window. We whisk the egg yolk base at 70°C on speed 2 for 2 minutes 30 seconds. Any cooler and the egg yolk does not bind sufficiently; any hotter and it will scramble. This is exactly where the Thermomix® has its greatest advantage: it holds the temperature precisely and stirs at a steady pace while your hands are free. The most common source of error on the hob, excessive heat from a momentary lapse of attention, is simply removed from the equation.
The 40 g white wine adds acidity, and acidity further stabilises the emulsion. If you prefer not to use wine, replace it with the same amount of water or vegetable stock plus a squeeze of lemon juice. Without that acid the sauce loses its stabilising support and becomes more fragile. With wine it stays at its most stable. The butterfly whisk must be in the mixing bowl for this step. Without it the sauce will not whip up light and airy.
The butter must drip, not pour
We melt the 200 g butter at 70°C on speed 1 for 3 minutes in a separate run and then give the mixing bowl a quick rinse. We then pour the liquid butter onto the closed mixing bowl lid while the Thermomix® continues to whisk the egg yolk base at 70°C on speed 2. The butter trickles slowly through the small opening in the lid and emulsifies drop by drop. The measuring cup must remain in place throughout; otherwise the butter sprays outward rather than dripping in.
This step takes 2 minutes. That may sound long, but it is necessary. If the butter enters the egg yolk base too quickly the emulsion splits: the fat separates from the egg yolk and the sauce turns grainy instead of creamy. Slow addition is essential in every hollandaise, whether made in a saucepan or in the mixing bowl. Also make sure the butter is not boiling hot when you add it. After 3 minutes melting at 70°C it will be at the right temperature. Butter that is significantly hotter will cause the egg yolk to seize immediately.
Tomato and basil go in at the very end
After adding the butter we stir 1 tbsp tomato puree and 1 pinch of sugar into the finished hollandaise and mix for 10 seconds on speed 3. The tomato puree gives the sauce a pale pink colour and adds umami. The sugar rounds off the acidity of the tomato without masking it. Tomato puree is the right choice here: it is concentrated and does not water down the emulsion as fresh tomato juice would.
We then fold in the 4 fresh cherry tomatoes, cut into pieces, and the 5 sprigs of basil by hand using the spatula. Do not blend any further at this point, or the sauce will become too thin and the basil will turn grey. The tomato pieces remain visible in the creamy base and add fresh, fruity accents when served. We fold the basil in just before serving so that it keeps its aroma.
Pitfalls that can cause the sauce to split
The sauce has curdled and shows lumps
A curdled hollandaise shows as lumps in the mixing bowl. This happens when the butter was added too quickly or the temperature rose above 70°C. Our fix: Add 1 tbsp ice-cold water or an ice cube to a clean mixing bowl, then slowly pour in the curdled sauce on speed 2. The cold water lowers the temperature and gives the emulsion a chance to re-form. If that does not work, whisk a fresh egg yolk with 1 tbsp warm water in the clean mixing bowl at 70°C on speed 2 and slowly pour in the curdled sauce.
The sauce has remained too thin
A sauce that is too thin has usually had too little butter or was not whisked at a high enough temperature. Our fix: Add an extra 20 to 30 g of melted butter and stir again at 70°C on speed 2 for 30 seconds. If it stays thin, whisk for another minute at 70°C, as the egg yolk continues to bind with heat.
The egg yolk seizes immediately when the butter is added
If lumps appear as soon as the butter starts dripping in, the butter was too hot. Our fix: After melting, leave the butter to stand for 2 to 3 minutes until it is just hand-warm, around 70°C, then pour it onto the lid. Butter poured in straight from a boiling pan is the most common reason for immediate seizing.
Three variations of the tomato hollandaise
Tomato BBQ Hollandaise: Along with the tomato puree, add 1 tsp sweet paprika (or smoked paprika for a smoky note) and a squeeze of lemon juice. This shifts the sauce towards a grilling sauce and works well with grilled meat and corn on the cob.
Without wine: Replace the 40 g white wine with 40 g vegetable stock plus 1 tsp lemon juice. The acidity matters, not the alcohol. This also makes the sauce suitable for children and pregnant women, provided the egg yolk is cooked through safely.
With sun-dried tomatoes: Instead of fresh cherry tomatoes, finely chop 30 g oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (5 seconds on speed 6) and fold them in. This gives a more intense, Mediterranean flavour and makes the sauce richer.
What goes best with the tomato hollandaise
The classic pairing is white asparagus. The gentle tomato acidity cuts through the butter fat and makes the sauce rounder alongside asparagus than the plain version. Steamed fish such as salmon or cod from the Varoma works equally well, as do poached eggs on toasted bread and new potatoes. If you are looking for a fruity starter, pair it with our tomato cream soup with the Thermomix®. More variations can be found in our overview of Hollandaise Thermomix®: 6 variations.
Serving, keeping warm and storing leftovers
Hollandaise is best served straight away. Keeping it warm above 70°C causes the sauce to curdle, while below 50°C the butter solidifies again. If you need to hold the sauce for 10 to 15 minutes, place it in a sauce boat over a bain-marie on low heat and stir occasionally. In the Thermomix® itself you can keep it warm at 50°C on speed 1 without the measuring cup, but for no longer than 10 minutes.
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 to 2 days, as the sauce contains raw egg yolks. To reheat, warm the sauce slowly at 50 to 60°C on speed 2 and stir until smooth again. Freezing works in principle for up to 3 months, but the texture suffers: thawed hollandaise needs to be re-emulsified slowly at 60°C and rarely turns as creamy as when freshly made. We therefore only freeze it as a last resort and prefer to make it fresh, as it is ready in 20 minutes.
Goes well with: Asparagus, pasta and gnocchi.
More sauces and basics from the mixing bowl: Sauce Hollandaise basic recipe and tomato cream soup with the Thermomix®.
