Espagnole Sauce
The apparently very basic dark sauce. However, its power to create other sauces makes Espagnole sauce of great importance to every cooks.
Equipment
- Heavy-bottom saucepan
- Sieve
- Spatula
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 3 liters Veal brown stock
- 100 g Onion
- 50 g Carrot
- 50 g Celery
- 2 pcs Garlic cloves
- 125 ml Dry red wine optional
- 25 g Tomato paste
- 20 g Flour
- 40 g Butter 20 g for roux and 20 g for sauté mirepoix
- 2 pcs Tomato whithout skin and seeds - concasse
- 1 pc Bouquet garni
Instructions
Mise en place
- Bouquet garni: Parsley stalks, 1 bay leaf, 1 celery stalk, wrapped in a green leek leaf, tied with culinary string.
- Brown roux: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter begins to foam, add the flour and cook for 10-15mins. Set aside to cool.
- Mirepoix: Wash the carrots and celery. Dry. Trim the ends and roots. Peel the onion and carrot and cut in large pieces about 1-2 inches/3-5cm
Preparing sauce
- In a heavy-bottom saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and sweat the mirepoix, occasionally stirring, until softened - 5 min.
- Add garlic clove, bouquet garni, tomato paste and cook until golden brown.
- Add tomatoes and cook until soft in low heat - 10 min.
- Add red wine and deglaze (optional).
- Add the hot veal stock.
- Temper the brown roux with a little of the veal stock and add to the rest in the pan, stirring to avoid lumps.
- Simmer uncovered, skimming any impurities from the surface of the liquid - écumer.
- Reduce the liquid by about one-third or until the sauce covers the back of a spoon.
- Pass the sauce through a sieve into a bowl discarding the solids.
- The Espagnole sauce is ready to use.
Notes
Centuries after the Spaniards took the original recipe to France and, later included by Auguste Escoffier in the select group of the five mother sauces of French cuisine, the Espagnole sauce continues with its originality, capable of producing a wide range of derived sauces, but with the same richness and intense flavor.
I hope this article has improved your cooking skills. To learn more, take a look at Velouté: How To Prepare A Velvety And Smooth Sauce