Recent Recipes:

The Mother Sauces

July 28, 2009
By Chef Grant Ripp

image
The Mother Sauces, also known as “Grand Sauces”, are the fundamentals of classical French cuisine. These are the five sauces that every cook should know and master. Thousands of derivative sauces can be categorized under the five Mother Sauces and the possibilities for variations are infinite.

The five Mother Sauces are.

Béchamel a white sauce made of milk and white roux

Velouté a light blond sauce made with blond roux and light stock.

Espagnole a brown sauce and made with brown roux and brown stock.

Tomato a red sauce based on… you guessed it, tomatoes. It is a great sauce to make in large volume. It freezes well and can be used on various dishes. It is the base for a large variety of sauces in today's cookery.

Hollandaise a yellow warm sauce and Mayonnaise, a cold white sauce, both of them are an emulsion made with eggs and fat.


Understanding Roux

Roux is made from equal parts fat and flour, blended together over heat. Any kind of fat can be used, from the classic butter to margarine, but, there will be a taste difference when using different kinds of fats, so you will need to adjust for flavor and add spices/seasonings at your own discretion. Note, it is easier to thin a sauce than to thicken it. If you make too much roux, it can be stored in your fridge for up to a week or placed in a container in your freezer for up to a year.

There are three kinds of roux = white, blond and brown. The difference between each roux is how long they are cooked. White roux is barely cooked; blond roux is cooked, depending on the size of the batch, for 10-20 minutes or until it exhibits a uniform blond color and smells of cooked nuts. Brown roux is cooked longer, and again depending on the amount it can take 15-30 minutes and should have a brown color and rich nutty smell. Roux is used to thicken liquids thereby creating a rich, flavorful sauce. When making blond and brown roux it is very important to consistently stir the roux to make sure it does not burn. Once it’s burnt, the bitter taste will never go away. If you do burn it, which can happen, it is best to start over.




Béchamel

The Béchamel sauce is a classic white sauce named after its inventor, Louis XIV's steward, Louis de Béchamel. Béchamel is often referred to as a cream sauce because of its appearance. Made by stirring milk into a butter-flour roux, the thickness of the sauce depends on the proportion of butter-flour to milk. The proportions for a thin sauce would be 1 tablespoon of roux per 1 cup of milk; a medium sauce would use 2 tablespoons of roux; a thick sauce, 3 tablespoons of roux. This sauce is very easy to make and is the absolute best for creating a great Mac & Cheese, Soufflé or Fondue. Here are the steps on how to make this sauce.

1. Using a heavy gauged or thick bottom pot to reduce the chance of burning the sauce make a “blanc” / white roux by mixing ¼ cup butter and ¼ cup flour.
2. In sauce pan, add 2 cups of milk and ½ of an onion
3. Allow milk and onion to simmer for 5 minutes, “steeping the flavor of the onion into the milk,” like one does when making tea.
4. Remove milk from the heat and remove the onion from the milk.
5. Begin to temper milk into roux while whisking briskly.
6. Bring sauce to a boil then lower to a simmer
7. Season with white pepper, nutmeg and salt to taste.

For successful sauce making, constantly stir roux-thickened sauces while cooking to prevent lumps. If you must leave the sauce unattended for a few seconds, set the pot off the heat during that time. If a roux-thickened sauce develops a few lumps, beat them out with a rotary beater or wire whisk. As a last resort, strain the sauce with a sieve to remove any lumps.

With an understanding of the flavor and foundation of this sauce you can now utilize different ingredients to transform this sauce from a dairy to a pareve sauce, simply by changing your roux recipe and substituting a non-dairy product like, soy milk, almond or even coconut juice for dairy milk. Just think of how nice a late afternoon Shabbat snack of fresh fruit served with a chilled mint-flavored almond béchamel sauce would be.

Another great dish for a weekday dinner is a lemon essence coconut béchamel sauce over pasta served with a spicy grilled chicken and mixed sautéed vegetables.


Mac & Cheese (Mornay) Béchamel Sauce

To bechamel sauce, add anywhere from ½ cup to 1 cup of graded cheese, “From classic Gruyere, Swiss, Cheddar or any kind of mix cheeses” to the sauce. Be sure to make a thin sauce as adding the cheese will thicken the sauce.


The classic mac and cheese a family favorite. Cook about 4 ounces of pasta per person, most prefer to use the elbow style but any kind of pasta can work. Once the pasta is cooked and strained blend it evenly with the cheese sauce. For an added touch of flavor, try placing the finished mac and cheese in a casserole baking dish, topped with bread crumbs and bake for another 10 minutes in the oven at 325 to give the top a golden crust.


Mint Flavored Almond Béchamel Sauce

Bechamel Sauce -
1. Using a heavy gauged or thick bottom pot to reduce the chance of burning the sauce make a “blanc” / white roux by mixing ¼ cup butter and ¼ cup flour.
2. In sauce pan, add 4 cups of almond amilk and 8-10 mint leaves
3. Allow almond milk and mint leaves to simmer for 5 minutes, “steeping the flavor of the mint into the almond milk,” like one does when making tea.
4. Remove almond milk from the heat and remove the mint leaves from the almond milk.
5. Begin to temper almond milk into roux while whisking briskly.
6. Bring sauce to a boil then lower to a simmer
7. Season with white pepper, nutmeg and salt to taste.

For successful sauce making, constantly stir roux-thickened sauces while cooking to prevent lumps. If you must leave the sauce unattended for a few seconds, set the pot off the heat during that time. If a roux-thickened sauce develops a few lumps, beat them out with a rotary beater or wire whisk. As a last resort, strain the sauce with a sieve to remove any lumps.



Lemon essence Coconut Béchamel Sauce

1. Using a heavy gauged or thick bottom pot to reduce the chance of burning the sauce make a “blanc” / white roux by mixing ¼ cup butter and ¼ cup flour.
2. In sauce pan, add 4 cups of coconut milk and 1-3 slices of lemon
3. Allow coconut milk and lemon slices to simmer for 5 minutes, “steeping the flavor of the lemon into the coconut milk,” like one does when making tea.
4. Remove coconut milk from the heat and remove the lemon slices from the coconut milk.
5. Begin to temper coconut milk into roux while whisking briskly.
6. Bring sauce to a boil then lower to a simmer
7. Season with white pepper, nutmeg and salt to taste.

For successful sauce making, constantly stir roux-thickened sauces while cooking to prevent lumps. If you must leave the sauce unattended for a few seconds, set the pot off the heat during that time. If a roux-thickened sauce develops a few lumps, beat them out with a rotary beater or wire whisk. As a last resort, strain the sauce with a sieve to remove any lumps.


Soubise Sauce

Béchamel sauce simmered with onions sautéed in butter seasoned with cayenne, then strained or pureed.

Chili Marinated Chicken

Lemon essence coconut bechamel sauce (using margarine) is great with some penne pasta, topped with sliced sautéed green zucchini and yellow squash, tossed with some slices of chili marinated grilled chicken. A great mixture of textures, colors and flavors and convenient to serve family style in a large bowl or casserole style dish at the center of any table. Any spicy chicken is good, but if you're looking for something new, this is a great chili marinated grilled chicken.

Serves 4. Adjust seasoning to your taste.


Marinade:
1 cup vegetable oil
¼ cup Lemon Juice
6 Slices lemon zest (optional)
3 minced garlic cloves
2-3 minced shallots
2 minced red chilies,
2 teaspoons light brown sugar (adjust for taste)
3 tablespoons hot sauce

8 oz of chicken (any protein can be used, this recipe calls for chicken, but one can use beef or even fish, just figure about 8 ounces of raw protein per person)


Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Add marinade and meat in bowl then toss.
You can either place it in a zip lock bag or just use the bowl with cling wrap.
Refrigerate for about 2 hours, turning the meat occasionally, or for best results marinate overnight.
Remove meat from marinade and grill until cooked and browned. Discard the leftover marinade.


More articles from this author





Submit a Comment

Comments posted on this website are subject to editing for space, language and/or clarity.


Name:


Email: (Rest assured, your email address will not be published.)

Comment:


Please enter the word you see in the image below: