Mother Sauces

 BECHAMEL

Country- France

Yields- 10 portions

Ingredients:

100 grams Clarified butter

100 grams flour

1 litre Milk

1 piece pigue/cloute

pinch of Nutmeg

Salt  to taste

2 grams Pepper

Method:

1. Boil milk with cloute, then strain and cool the milk.

2. Make roux with flour and butter and cook it to sandy texture. Add cold milk and keep on stirring with a wooden spoon to ensure no lumps are formed.

3. Cook till the sauce thickens. This would roughly take 20 to 30 minutes on a medium flame.

4. Spice it up with a pinch of nutmeg and use accordingly.

Service:

1. This sauce forms the base of many sauces and can be used of its own as well.

2. An essential sauce used in the thickening of the cream soup.

Chef's Note:

1. The sauce is simmered with butter before storing as this would prevent the formation of skin on top of the sauce.

2. In case while making the sauce, lumps are formed, blend the sauce, strain and cook again to thicken it.

3. The cloute is studded with cloves for easy removal from the sauce. Use six to eight numbers of cloves one piece of onion.

4. Bring milk to boil with cloute and leave to stand in room temperature to let the flavour infuse you could strain the milk after a couple of hours and use it for making bechamel.

VELOUTE

Country- France

Yields- 10 portions

Ingredients:

100 grams Clarified Butter

100 grams Flour (refined)

1 litre stock (Chicken, fish, veal)

Sachet of d'epices

Salt pepper to taste 

Method:

1. Heat butter, add flour, and cook to a blond roux.

2. Add cold chicken stock (if making chicken veloute) stirring continuously to avoid lumps.

3. Add sachet and cook for 15 minutes on a medium flame.

4. Use as required.

Service:

1. This sauce forms a base of many sauces and can be used on its own as well.

2. Apart from bechamel, veloute can also be used in the thickening of cream soups.

Chef's Note:

1. If lumps are formed, while making the sauce, blend the sauce, strain and cook again to thicken it.

2. Veloute can also be enriched by adding a liuson.

ESPAGNOLE:

Country- France

Yields- 10 portions 

Ingredients:

100 grams Clarified Butter

120 grams refined flour

1 litre Brown stock(beef stock)

sachet d'epices

20 ml Oil

50 ml red wine

50 grams tomato paste

150 grams Mirepoix

Salt pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil and brown the mirepoix on a medium flame.

2. Add tomato paste and cook further. Deglaze with red wine and add beef stock.

3. Add sachet d'epices and simmer the sauce for 30 minutes .

4. Heat butter, add flour, and cook to a brown roux and cool it.

5. Add the roux to the hot liquid and keep stirring to avoid lumps.

6. Cook on a medium flame for 10 minutes and used as required.

Services:

This sauce forms a base of many sauce and can be used on its own as well.

Chef's Note;

1. In case while making the sauce lumps are formed, blend the sauce, strain and cook again to thicken it.

2. Due to health reasons, adding of the brown roux is omitted nowadays instead the stock is reduced till it thickens naturally, Such kind sauce is also known s 'Jus' and more flavourful than the original brown sauce. 

TOMATO SAUCE
Country- Italy

Yields- 10 portions

Ingredients:

70 ml Olive Oil

100 grams Onion

20 grams Garlic

1 kg Tomato

80 grams tomato paste

50 ml White wine

10 grams Basil

salt pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat olive oil and saute onions and garlic.

2. Add tomato paste and cook for 10 minutes on a medium flame.

3. Add fresh chopped tomatoes and white wine and cook covered for 30 to 40 minutes on a medium flame or a hot plate.

4. Seasons and add torn basil in the last 10 minutes of cooking.

5. Store and use as required.

Service:

1. This sauce forms a base of many sauces and can be used of its own as well.

2. Apart from usage in pastas, this sauce can be pureed and used in many days.

Chef's Note:

1. The above recipe of tomato sauce is very commonly used in modern kitchens. Classical tomato sauce from france is combination of brown sauce and tomatoes and seldom used nowadays.

2. Apart from Basil, Oregano also teams up very well with tomato sauce.

HOLLANDAISE

Country- France

Yields- 10 portions

Ingredients:

500 grams Clarified Butter

4 Nos Egg Yolk (separated from White)

15 ml White wine Vinegar

30 grams Onion(finely chopped)

few leaves Tarragon

10 nos Pepper corns

15 ml Water

Salt pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a pan reduce vinegar, chopped onions, tarragon and crushed peppercorns to half, Take the pan off the fire. Add a tablespoon of water and strain the liquid.

2. Combine the reduced liquid with the egg yolk and whisk on a doubler to a ribbon stage.

3. Add melted clarified butter in a thin stream and continue whisking until a thick sauce is formed.

4. Seasons the sauce and hold it warm and used as required.

Service:

1. This sauce forms the base of many sauces and can be used of its own as well.

2. To taste, Hollandaise is usually served gratinated.

Chef's Note;

1. This sauce is very tricky to make as it can cardless easily if care is not taken.

2. If the sauce curdle, add a spoonful of hot water into the emulsion and whisk again. If the still does not fix the problem than whisk one egg yolk with a little warm water on a double boiler and add the curdle sauce in a thin stream to form an emulsion.

MAYONNAISE

Country- France

Yields- 10 portion

Ingredients:

4 nos Egg Yolks

400 ml Oil

10 grams Mustard paste (dijon mustard)

10 ml White wine vinegar

2 grams salt 

pinch of pepper

Method:

1. Combine egg yolks, salt pepper,and mustard paste in a round bowl.

2. Whisk to a ribbon stage and add oil continuously in a thin stream, whisking all the time.

3. If the sauce become too thick, then add more vinegar to thin it down.

4. Whisk till a stabilized emulsion is formed and it stand in firm peaks.

5. Use as required.

Services:

1. This sauce forms a base of many sauces and can be used on its own as well.

2. It is always served cold and is usually served as a dripping sauce for snacks.

3. Avoid serving mayonnaise in a silver dish, as the egg in this sauce can tarnish the silver dish.

Chef's Note:

1. In the event of curdling of the sauce, add vinegar to rectify. If it still does not bind, add 1 tsp of boiling water and whisk, if still curdled, start with fresh egg yolk and add the curdled sauce in a thin stream to form an emulsion.

2. Use all ingredients at room temperature to get a better mayonnaise.

3. Modern Kitchen use ready, made mayonnaise to get better mayonnaise which is mostly eggless and more healthier than a regular mayonnaise. Most of the food poisoning often happens through mayonnaise as it uses raw egg and oil to form an emulsion, so using a proprietary mayonnaise is more advisable.