Preparation time: a few minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
 

A staple of hotel breakfast menus, Eggs Benedict was probably invented by an American, Lemuel Benedict, a retired Wall Street banker, who asked the manager of the Waldorf Hotel, where he was staying, for toast topped with ham, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce to cure the headache he was suffering from the previous night's revels. The hotel's maitre d', Oscar Tschirky, impressed by the combination, added it the next day to the hotel's breakfast and lunch menus.

1. Poach the eggs for 3 minutes, keeping the yolks soft.
2. Halve and toast the English muffins.
3. Place a slice of ham on each muffin half; top with an egg.
4. Finish with a few spoonfuls of hollandaise sauce. Serve immediately.