The Little Paris Kitchen (31 page)

Start adding the milk to the
roux
by beating in about 2 tablespoons, then repeat until you have incorporated about a quarter of the milk. Switch to a whisk and gradually incorporate the rest of the milk.

Place the pan back over a medium heat and simmer with the onion, clove, and bay leaf for 10 minutes. Whisk frequently to ensure that none of the sauce burns on the bottom of the pan. If the sauce becomes too thick (it should have the consistency of custard or a thick tomato sauce), whisk in a little more milk.

Remove the onion, clove, and bay leaf, then add the nutmeg and season with salt and white pepper (black pepper is fine if you don't mind the speckles).

Mornay (cheese) sauce:
before seasoning at the end, add 1¾ cups grated Gruyère or mature Comté cheese (or a strong hard cheese like Cheddar or Parmesan)
.

Creamy mustard sauce:
stir in a generous tablespoon of grainy mustard before seasoning at the end
.

Caper and parsley sauce:
add 2 tablespoons chopped capers and a handful of chopped parsley before seasoning at the end
.

VELOUTÉ SAUCES

These are made with a blonde
roux
as for a
béchamel
except that the milk is replaced by white (unroasted) stock or vegetable stock.

Velouté
sauces are not served on their own but used as a base for a wide range of other sauces. Different stocks will influence the end result (vegetable stock making the lightest of sauces), and you can add chopped button mushrooms, fresh herbs such as tarragon and dill, or spices like paprika. Use your taste buds and get creative!

Sauce Bercy (below) is a classic
velouté
sauce. For examples of other
velouté
sauces in action, see
Poulet aux champignons avec une sauce au vin blanc
(
page 187
) and
Asperges à la parisienne
(
page 156
).

SAUCE BERCY

SERVES 4

Traditionally made with a fish
velouté
(blonde
roux
plus fish stock) with shallots, butter, and white wine but no cream. A perfect match for seafood.

For the
velouté
sauce:
2 tbsp butter • ¼ cup all-purpose flour • 1¾ cups fish stock • 2 shallots, finely chopped

• 4 tbsp butter • ½ cup dry white wine • salt • a few drops of lemon juice • a handful of chopped parsley

TO MAKE THE
VELOUTÉ
SAUCE:
Melt the butter in a large pot over a medium heat and add the flour. Using a wooden spoon, beat hard until you have a smooth paste
(roux)
. Continue to beat until the
roux
begins to have a light golden color. Take off the heat.

Start adding the stock to the
roux
by beating in about 2 tablespoons, then repeat until you have incorporated about a quarter of the stock. Switch to a whisk and gradually incorporate the rest of the stock.

Place the pot back over a medium heat and simmer for 15–20 minutes. Whisk frequently to ensure that none of the sauce burns on the bottom of the pan. If the sauce becomes too thick (it should have the consistency of custard or a thick tomato sauce), whisk in a little more stock. Remove from the heat.

To finish, cook the shallots with 2 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan until translucent. Add the wine and reduce for 2 minutes before pouring in the
velouté
sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and lemon juice. Before serving, swirl in the remaining butter and add the chopped parsley.

SAUCE ESPAGNOLE

SERVES 4

A classic in French cuisine, and the last time I counted I found over twenty different offspring. No wonder, when it's so versatile.

The classic
sauce espagnole
is reduced for several hours. This is my modern shortcut version, which can be served as it comes with roasted, broiled, or poached meat, or you can add extra ingredients
*
to make a fine accompaniment to almost any dish.

• 1 oz lardons or cubes of smoked bacon
**
• 1 onion, finely chopped • 1 carrot, finely chopped • 1 stick of celery, finely chopped • 2 tbsp butter • ¼ cup all-purpose flour • 2 cups veal or beef stock, lukewarm • 1 tbsp tomato paste • 1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 10 peppercorns, 5 parsley stalks, 2 sprigs of thyme)

Over a medium heat, fry the lardons and vegetables until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon, trying to keep as much of the fat as possible in the pan. Melt the butter in the pan, sprinkle in the flour, and stir constantly until it turns almost a Coca-Cola color (this is a brown
roux
). Reduce the heat to low and slowly pour in the warm stock while whisking energetically. Once the stock is incorporated, add the tomato paste and whisk until dissolved. Pop the fried vegetables and lardons back into the pan, add the bouquet garni, and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Pour through a sieve (to remove the vegetables, lardons, bouquet garni, and any other bits) to make a silky-smooth sauce. Taste for seasoning.
***

TOMATO SAUCES

These no-fuss sauces are good back-up recipes. They can be prepared in advance and even frozen.

ESCOFFIER'S TOMATO SAUCE

SERVES 4–6

You may think that the Italians have mastered the art of tomato sauces but Escoffier's
*
is a pretty mean sauce too. The addition of lardons and veal stock gives it a deep, meaty-rich flavor, and you can add a dash of heavy cream or 2 tablespoons of butter before serving if you wish.

This is my adaptation of Escoffier's classic recipe.

• 2 tbsp butter • 1 clove of garlic, crushed to a paste • 1¾ oz lardons or cubes of smoked bacon • 1 carrot, chopped into medium dice • 1 onion, finely chopped • ¼ cup all-purpose flour • 2 cups veal or beef stock, lukewarm • 2 lb tomatoes, roughly chopped • a pinch of sugar, or to taste • salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the garlic, lardons, carrot, and onion and sweat on a medium heat for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and some of the fat from the lardons has melted. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for another couple of minutes, then whisk continuously while slowly pouring in the stock.

Add the tomatoes and simmer, covered, for an hour or until they have broken down completely.

Whizz the sauce in a blender until smooth. Season to taste with the sugar, salt, and pepper.

*
Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935) modernized and popularized French cooking as we know it today. In 1903 he published
Le Guide culinaire,
which is still regarded as a major reference work for professional cooks, both for recipes and kitchen management. Drawing on his experience in the French army, Escoffier organized the kitchen team by hierarchy of authority, responsibility, and function, with each individual delegated a specific task. This system is still used throughout the restaurant world today
.

MODERN TOMATO SAUCE (VEGAN)

SERVES 2–3

• 1 onion, finely chopped • 1 carrot, finely chopped • 1 stick of celery, finely chopped • 1 clove of garlic, crushed to a paste • 2 tbsp olive oil • one 16-oz can tomatoes, chopped • a pinch of sugar • salt and pepper

Sweat the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic with the olive oil for 10 minutes or until tender. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer, covered, for an hour.

Whizz the sauce in a blender until smooth. Season with the sugar, salt, and pepper.

SAUCES AU BEURRE

BUTTER SAUCES

These simple sauces are probably the quickest way to add extra flavor to fish (see
Poisson meunière
on
page 180
), meat, poultry, and vegetables. There's not much to them, apart from melting a little butter.

BEURRE BLANC

SERVES 2–3

• 1 shallot, finely chopped • 6 tbsp dry white wine • 4 tbsp white wine vinegar • 4 tbsp heavy cream • 6½ tbsp butter, cubed • salt • a pinch of cayenne pepper

Simmer the shallot, wine, and vinegar in a pan until reduced to 1 tablespoon. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cream followed by a cube of butter at a time. Make sure to whisk energetically. If the butter isn't melting, put the pan back on a low heat. Once all the butter is incorporated, season with salt and a little cayenne. Serve immediately.

Chopped herbs, such as mint, parsley, basil or tarragon, make a nice addition.

BEURRE NOISETTE

SERVES 2

• 6½ tbsp butter, cubed • 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Put the butter into a large pan and place on a medium heat. Cook until the butter has become a nutty brown color, then remove from the heat and add the parsley. Serve immediately.

BEURRE AU CITRON

SERVES 2

• juice of 1 lemon • 4 tbsp dry white wine • 6½ tbsp butter, cubed • salt

Simmer the lemon juice and wine in a pan until reduced to 1 tablespoon. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter a cube at a time. Make sure to whisk energetically. If the butter isn't melting, put the pan back on a low heat. Once all the butter is incorporated, season with a little salt. Serve immediately.

LES ÉMULSIONS

DRESSINGS

These use liquids that don't normally bind together easily. They are combined by rapid mixing to make them smooth, and are renowned for being the trickiest of sauces to make. With my recipes and a few tips and tricks, though, they should be a doddle.

HOLLANDAISE

SERVES 2–3

Although the name suggests Dutch origins, historians claim that
sauce hollandaise
was a French invention most likely dating from the mid-eighteenth century. Hollandaise sauce and asparagus is like mint and peas—a match made in heaven—but hollandaise can be served with other vegetables too (it's particularly nice with long-stemmed purple broccoli that can be dipped into the sauce).

• 3 egg yolks, at room temperature • ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp butter, melted and still warm • juice of ½ lemon • salt and pepper

Place a large heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Put the egg yolks into the bowl and whisk them at the same time as adding the melted warm butter, drop by drop. Whisk constantly
*
until the sauce has the consistency of thick cream. Take off the heat, add the lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Use immediately.

*
Make sure to whisk constantly and vigorously as this helps to disperse the water and oil droplets evenly, and so stop the sauce separating
.

Sauce Béarnaise:
Place 6 tablespoons each dry white wine and white wine vinegar in a pan with 10 peppercorns and a finely chopped shallot. Simmer until reduced by half. Strain and leave to cool for a couple of minutes (it should be lukewarm, not boiling), then whisk into the finished hollandaise sauce followed by 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon. (If you replace the tarragon with mint, you will have a
sauce paloise,
which is great with lamb and mutton
.)

Sauce Maltaise:
Simmer 7 tablespoons orange juice in a pan until reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Fold into the finished hollandaise sauce with the finely grated zest of 1 orange. Check for seasoning.

Sauce Mousseline:
Whisk 1 egg white to soft peaks and fold into the finished hollandaise sauce. Check for seasoning.

MAYONNAISE

SERVES 2–3

• 3 egg yolks, at room temperature • ¾–1 cup sunflower or vegetable oil
*
• a few drops of white wine vinegar or lemon juice • salt

Place the egg yolks in a large glass or stainless-steel bowl set on a damp tea towel (this will stop the bowl from slipping). Start by whisking the egg yolks a little, then add the oil drop by drop until the eggs begin to thicken and become pale in color.

Continue by drizzling the oil into the mix until you have achieved the consistency you like. Add a few drops of white wine vinegar or lemon juice and season with salt.

*
If you would like your mayonnaise to have the peppery taste of olive oil, switch to an extra virgin olive oil when the mixture has become thick and pale in color. I find using only olive oil gives the mayonnaise a bitter taste
.

Chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill, tarragon, or basil, make a great addition to mayonnaise.

If you like a little heat, why not try adding a little wasabi, harissa, or sweet chile sauce?

Sauce Tartare:
Mix 1 tablespoon each chopped capers, cornichons, parsley, tarragon, and chervil into the mayonnaise
.

Sauce Cocktail:
Mix 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup into the mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon each Cognac and Worcestershire sauce and a dash of Tabasco or a pinch of cayenne pepper
.

VINAIGRETTE

MAKES ENOUGH FOR A GREEN SALAD TO SERVE 4–6

Vinaigrette wasn't always associated with salad dressings. From the late-eighteenth century until the middle of the nineteenth, it was the name given to a small box made of gold, mother-of-pearl, or ivory. Fashionable ladies of the time wore the box on a necklace and inside they kept a small sponge soaked in aromatic vinegar. The sponge was used to dab foreheads and temples when the ladies felt flushed.