A guide to modern cookery by A. Escoffier

following these two rules, a clear, brilliant, and consistent Espagnole will always be obtained in a fairly short time. 23—HALF GLAZE This is the Espagnole sauce, having reached the limit of perfection by final despumation. It is obtained by reducing one quart of Espagnole and one quart of first-class brown stock until its volume is reduced to nine-tenths of a quart. It is then strained into a _bain-marie_ of convenient dimensions, and it is finished, away from the fire, with one-tenth of a quart of excellent sherry. Cover the _bain-marie_, or slightly butter the top to avoid the formation of a skin. This sauce is the base of all the smaller brown sauces. 24—LENTEN ESPAGNOLE Practical men are not agreed as to the need of Lenten Espagnole. The ordinary Espagnole being really a neutral sauce in flavour, it is quite simple to give it the necessary flavour by the addition of the required quantity of fish _fumet_. It is only, therefore, when one wishes to conform with the demands of a genuine Lent sauce that a fish Espagnole is needed. And, certainly in this case, nothing can take its place. The preparation of this Espagnole does not differ from that of the ordinary kind, except that the bacon is replaced by mushroom parings in the Mirepoix, and that the sauce must be despumated for only one hour. This sauce takes the place of the ordinary Espagnole, for Lenten preparations, in every case where the latter is generally used, in Gratins, in the Genevoise sauce, &c. 25—ORDINARY VELOUTÉ SAUCE _Quantities Required for Four Quarts._—One lb. of pale roux (Formula 20), five quarts of white veal stock (Formula 10). Dissolve the roux in the cold white veal stock and put the saucepan containing this mixture on an open fire, stirring the sauce with a spatula or whisk, so as to avoid its burning at the bottom. Add one oz. of table-salt, a pinch of nutmeg and white powdered pepper, together with one-quarter lb. of nice white mushroom parings, if these are handy. Now boil and move to a corner of the fire to despumate slowly for one and a half hours, at the same time observing the precautions advised for ordinary Espagnole (Formula 22). Strain through muslin into a smaller saucepan, add one pint of white stock, and despumate for another half hour. Strain it again through a tammy or a sieve into a wide tureen, and keep moving it with a spatula until it is quite cold. I am not partial to garnishing Velouté Sauce with carrots, an onion with a clove stuck into it, and a faggot, as many do. The stock should be sufficiently fragrant of itself, without requiring the addition of anything beyond the usual condiments. The only exception I should make would be for mushroom parings, even though it is preferable, when possible, to replace these by mushroom liquor. But this is always scarce in kitchens where it is used for other purposes; wherefore it is often imperative to have recourse to parings in its stead. The latter may not, however, be added to the stock itself, as they would blacken it; hence I advise their addition to the Velouté during its preparation. 26—VELOUTÉ DE VOLAILLE This is identical with ordinary Velouté, except that instead of having white veal stock for its liquor, it is diluted with white poultry stock. The mode of procedure and the time allowed for cooking are the same. 26a—FISH VELOUTÉ Velouté is the base of various fish sauces whose recipes will be given in Part II. Prepare it in precisely the same way as poultry velouté, but instead of using poultry stock, use very clear fish _fumet_, and let it despumate for twenty minutes only. (See fish _fumet_ No. 11.) 27—ALLEMANDE SAUCE OR THICKENED VELOUTÉ Allemande Sauce is not, strictly speaking, a basic sauce. However, it is so often resorted to in the preparation of other sauces that I think it necessary to give it after the Veloutés, from which it is derived. _Quantities Required for One Quart._ The yolks of 5 eggs. 1 pint of cold white stock. 1 quart of Velouté, well despumated. ½ the juice of a lemon. ¼ pint of mushroom liquor. _Mode of Procedure._—Put the various ingredients in a thick-bottomed sauté-pan and mix them carefully. Then put the pan on an open fire, and stir the sauce with a metal spatula, lest it burn at the bottom. When the sauce has been reduced to about one quart, add one-third pint of fresh cream to it, and reduce further for a few minutes. It should then be passed through a fine strainer into a tureen and kept moving until quite cold. Prepared thus, the Allemande Sauce is ready for the preparation of the smaller sauces. Butter must only be added at the very last moment, for if it were buttered any earlier it would most surely turn. The same injunction holds good with this sauce when it is to be served in its original state; it should then receive a small addition of cream, and be buttered so that it may attain its required delicacy; but this addition of butter and cream ought only to be made at the last moment, and away from the fire. When a sauce thickened with egg yolks has any fat substance added to it, it cannot be exposed to a higher temperature than 140 degrees Fahrenheit without risking decomposition. 28—BÉCHAMEL SAUCE _Quantities Required for Four Quarts._ 1 lb. of white roux. 4½ quarts of boiling milk. ½ lb. of lean veal. ⅔ oz. of salt, 1 pinch of mignonette, and grated nutmeg, and 1 small sprig of thyme. 1 minced onion. _Preparation._—Pour the boiling milk on the roux, which should be almost cold, and whisk it well so as to avoid lumps. Let it boil, then cook on the side of the fire. Meanwhile the lean veal should have been cut into small cubes, and fried with butter in a saucepan, together with the minced onion. When the veal has stiffened without becoming coloured, it is added to the Béchamel, together with salt and the other aromatics. Let the sauce boil slowly for about one hour in all, and then pass it through a tammy into a tureen; butter the top, lest a crust should form. When Béchamel is intended for Lenten preparations, the veal must be omitted. There is another way of making the sauce. After having boiled the milk, the seasoning and aromatics should be added; the saucepan is then covered and placed on a corner of the stove, so as to ensure a thorough infusion. The boiling milk must now be poured on to the roux which has been separately prepared, and the sauce should then cook for one quarter of an hour only. 29—TOMATO SAUCE _Quantities Required for Four Quarts._ 5 oz. of salted breast of pork, rather fat. 6 oz. of carrots cut into cubes. 6 oz. of onions cut into cubes. 1 bay leaf and 1 small sprig of thyme. 5 oz. of flour. 2 oz. of butter, ½ oz. of salt, 1 oz. of sugar, a pinch of pepper. 10 lbs. of raw tomatoes or 4 quarts of same, mashed. 2 quarts of white stock. _Preparation._—Fry the pork with the butter in a tall, thick-bottomed saucepan. When the pork is nearly melted, add the carrots, onions, and aromatics. Cook and stir the vegetables, then add the flour, which should be allowed to cook until it begins to brown. Now put in the tomatoes and white stock, mix the whole well, and set to boil on an open fire. At this point add the seasoning and a crushed clove of garlic, cover the saucepan, and place in a moderate oven, where it may cook for one and one-half hours. At the end of this time the sauce should be passed through a sieve or tammy, and it should boil while being stirred. Finally, pour it into a tureen, and butter its surface to avoid the formation of a skin. _Remarks._—A purée of tomatoes is also used in cookery; it is prepared in precisely the same fashion, except that the flour is omitted and only one pint of white stock is added. 30—HOLLANDAISE SAUCE _Quantities Required for One Quart._—One and one-half lbs. of butter, the yolks of six eggs, one pinch of mignonette pepper and one-quarter oz. of salt, three tablespoonfuls of good vinegar. _Preparation._—Put the salt, the mignonette, the vinegar, and as much water in a small saucepan, and reduce by three-quarters on the fire. Move the saucepan to a corner of the fire or into a _bain-marie_, and add a spoonful of fresh water and the yolks. Work the whole with a whisk until the yolks thicken and have the consistence of cream. Then remove the saucepan to a tepid place and gradually pour the butter on the yolks while briskly stirring the sauce. When the butter is absorbed, the sauce ought to be thick and firm. It is brought to the correct consistence with a little water, which also lightens it slightly, but the addition of water is optional. The sauce is completed by a drop of lemon juice, and it is rubbed through a tammy. _Remarks._—The consistence of sauces whose processes are identical with those of the Hollandaise may be varied at will; for instance, the number of yolks may be increased if a very thick sauce is desired, and it may be lessened in the reverse case. Also similar results may be obtained by cooking the eggs either more or less. As a rule, if a thick sauce be required, the yolks ought to be well cooked and the sauce kept almost cold in the making. Experience alone—the fruit of long practice—can teach the various devices which enable the skilled worker to obtain different results from the same kind and quality of material.