Mother Sauces
In classic French cooking, there are 5 ‘Mother Sauces’ that build the base for almost any sauce you’ll make. Once you master the basics of each of these sauces, you can add additional herbs, spices, diced veggies, and your favorite ingredients to create your own unique sauce!
-
Traditionally made with a roux for thickening, but you can skip that step if you want. Typically the tomatoes will create a thick enough sauce without the roux. Caramelize your garlic and onions in some olive oil then add in your chopped tomatoes. Allow this to simmer and season with desired herbs, salt, and pepper. You can add a splash of red wine too, if you want! After about 15 minutes of cooking, use an immersion blender to blend up your veggies to your desired sauce thickness - see, super simple!
Tomato sauce can be used with pasta, on pizza, as a base for soup, in a casserole, on top of your favorite grilled meat, or as a moat for some roasted veggies.
You can experiment with adding roasted red peppers, Chile peppers for some spice, add lots of fresh basil, add anchovies and capers, add ground beef or diced pancetta, or anything your heart and gut desires.
Have leftovers? You can freeze and reheat tomato sauce without degrading the ‘sauciness’ of the sauce.
-
Use a small skillet to melt your butter. Once it’s melted, you can add the flour and mix together. If there are any lumps, you want to get rid of them before adding milk. Once your roux comes together and is lump free, slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk vigorously to prevent any lumps from forming and continue cooking while stirring to nappe. Nappe means that the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of your spoon and when you run a finger through the sauce, it holds it’s shape. Season with your desired seasonings and your béchamel is ready to go!
Add shredded gruyere cheese to create Mornay sauce.
Use béchamel or mornay for:
☀️ mac’n’cheese
☀️ croque madame
☀️ croquetas de jamon
☀️ potatoes at gratin
☀️ and toss with pasta or drizzle over grilled chicken
Have leftovers? Béchamel is best to use fresh and won’t freeze/thaw very well … but, if you must freeze it, plan to use it as a base for a creamy soup (cream of mushroom or cream of potato) where you are adding lots of other ingredients to the party!
-
This sauce is made very similarly to béchamel, but with white stock instead of cream. Melt your butter and add flour. Stir these together and ensure they are lump free. Whisk in you stock (chicken, veal, or fish) and cook to nappe. It’s best to add warm stock, so gently heat up your stock in a separate saucepan before melting your butter.
Use velouté to make:
☀️ gravy
☀️ sauce suprême
☀️ soup (cream of chicken or mushroom)
☀️ normande sauce
☀️ white wine mushroom sauce
☀️ fillings for chicken pot pie
Have leftovers? You can save it in the fridge for about one week and reconstitute it by adding a bit more stock as you reheat it.
-
Melt butter in a medium saucepan and add diced mirepoix. Once the onions begin to caramelize, stir in flour ensuring no lumps form. Once the flour has picked up some color, whisk in beef stock and tomato paste. Add herbs wrapped in a cheesecloth sachet and simmer until thick. Strain out veggies and herbs - bonus tip: toss these veggies into a soup to minimize food waste!
Use Espagnole as a base for:
☀️ Demi-glacé
☀️ Bordelaise
☀️ Lyonnaise
☀️ Use for braising meat
☀️ Stir into risotto
Have leftovers? Save it in a sealed dish in the fridge and add more stock as you reheat it on the stove.
-
Hollandaise is a sauce that utilizes emulsion to combine a fat and liquid. Begin by placing your egg yolks and acid (lemon juice or vinegar) in a metal bowl. In a small saucepan melt and clarify your butter (skim off the fat solids). Whisk your egg & acid together until it doubles in volume then place over a bain marie (pot with gently simmering water). Gently warm your egg while continuing to whisk. Add the melted butter while whisking vigorously and continue whisking until it has doubled in size. Remove from heat and add your desired seasoning.
Use hollandaise on top of:
☀️ poached fish
☀️ roasted veggies
☀️ Eggs Benedict
☀️ Crab Imperial
☀️ as a sandwich spread
Once you master Hollandaise, try making your own aoli, mousseline, or bernaise
