Espagnole A Basic Brown Sauce Food

ESPAGNOLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook carrot and onion in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Add flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until medium brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Add hot stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then add tomato purée, garlic, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 cups, about 45 minutes.
• Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
• *Available at some specialty foods shops and cooking.com (stock requires a dilution ratio of 1:16; 1/4 cup concentrate to 4 cups water).

ESPAGNOLE: A BASIC BROWN SAUCE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Fold the bay leaf, thyme, parsley stems, and peppercorns in a square of cheesecloth and tie the corners with a piece of kitchen twine. Leave one string long enough so that you can tie it to the handle of your pot to make it easier to retrieve.
• In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat until it becomes frothy.
• Add the mirepoix-onions, carrots, and celery-and sauté for a few minutes until lightly browned. Don't let it burn.
• With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the mirepoix a little bit at a time until it is fully incorporated and forms a thick paste (this is your roux ).
• Lower the heat and cook the roux for another 5 minutes or so, until it just starts to take on a very light brown color. Again, don't let it burn.
• Using a wire whisk, slowly add the stock and tomato purée to the roux, whisking vigorously to make sure it's free of lumps.
• Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and add the sachet. Simmer for about 50 minutes, or until the total volume has reduced by about 1/3, stirring frequently to make sure the sauce doesn't scorch at the bottom of the pan.
• Use a ladle to skim off any impurities that rise to the surface.
• Remove the sauce from the heat and retrieve the sachet.
• For an extra smooth consistency, carefully pour the sauce through a wire mesh strainer lined with a piece of cheesecloth.
• If you won't be serving the sauce right away, keep it covered and warm until you're ready to use it. Otherwise, serve hot and enjoy!

BASIC BROWN SAUCE

Steps:

• Saute onion in butter in a heavy skillet until onion is tender; discard onion. Cook butter over low heat until it begins to brown. Add flour, stirring until smooth ( I find that a whisk works best). Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add bouillon granules, and gradually stir in water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in pepper. Serve with beef or pork.
• Bordelaise Sauce: Substitute 1/3 cup dry red wine for 1/3 cup of the water, and stir in 3/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes and 1/4 teaspoon dried whole thyme; increase pepper to 1/4 teaspoon.
• Mushroom Brown Sauce: Saute 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter; drain and stir into Basic Brown Sauce. Serve with beef.

BASIC BROWN SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add butter. When hot, add the mirepoix, stir, and cook for 6-7 minutes or until soft, stirring often. Add chervil, stir well before adding flour; stir to coat and cook for 2 minutes to remove the raw taste of it. Add cold broth, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot. Add pepper, salt and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium; simmer for 30 minutes.
• Pour sauce through a sieve before using, squeezing the ingredients and then discard them. Use it or pour it back to the pot if making another recipe with it. Makes 2 ½ cups.