Short Cut Sauce Espagnole Recipes

SAUCE ESPAGNOLE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour to make a smooth paste. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon and lowering the heat as needed to prevent burning, until the roux is several shades darker than peanut butter, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Stir in the carrots, celery and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then whisk in the white wine and cook until the mixture thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Don't worry if the vegetables get stuck in the whisk; as you add more liquid, they will release and combine with the sauce. Whisk in the stock, 1 cup at a time, and lower the heat to a simmer.
• To make a bouquet garni, place the peppercorns, parsley, thyme and bay leaves and in a square of cheesecloth and tie it into a bundle with kitchen twine. Submerge the bouquet garni in the sauce.
• Simmer the sauce, using a spoon to skim off any fat or scum that rises to the surface, until it reduces by half and has the consistency of gravy, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Remove the bouquet garni, then strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth. Use as desired as a base for sauces.

BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH MUSHROOMS AND ESPAGNOLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
• Remove any strings from beef if tied, then pat beef dry and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Heat oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until just smoking, then sear beef 1 piece at a time, turning with tongs, until well browned, about 5 minutes each. (If beef tenderloin pieces are too long to fit into skillet, halve each crosswise, then brown 2 pieces at a time.) Transfer beef to an 18- by 12-inch flameproof roasting pan, reserving skillet.
• Roast beef in oven until thermometer inserted diagonally 2 inches into center of each piece registers 120°F, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer beef to a cutting board, reserving roasting pan, and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 25 minutes. (Beef will continue to cook as it stands, reaching 130°F for medium-rare.)
• While beef roasts, heat butter in skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then reduce heat to moderate and cook mushrooms, stirring, until liquid they give off is evaporated and mushrooms are pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• While beef stands, straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add Sherry and deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 minute. Add Sherry mixture and espagnole sauce to mushrooms and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until warm. Cover skillet and remove from heat.
• Cut off and discard strings from beef and cut meat crosswise into 10 or 20 slices. Pour any juices on cutting board into sauce and heat over moderate heat, stirring, until hot.
• Serve beef with sauce.

ESPAGNOLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook carrot and onion in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Add flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until medium brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Add hot stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then add tomato purée, garlic, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 cups, about 45 minutes.
• Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
• *Available at some specialty foods shops and cooking.com (stock requires a dilution ratio of 1:16; 1/4 cup concentrate to 4 cups water).

CLASSIC SAUCE ESPAGNOLE

Steps:

• Put lard in a heavy saucepan over low heat, cook for 10 minutes. Add carrot, onion, bay leaf and thyme; stir while cooking over medium heat and until onions are well browned. Spoon off 2 or 3 tablespoons of the liquid fat. Add wine and cook until liquid is reduced by half.
• While this mixture is reducing, melt the butter in another heavy saucepan, add the flour and brown over low heat. Remove from heat, add 2 cups of stock or combined boullion and meat glaze stirring with a whisk. Return to heat, bring to boil, add vegetable mixture. Reduce heat to very low and let cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally and skimming from time to time.
• Strain the sauce through an extremely fine sieve, pressing down on vegetables with a wooden spoon. Add 1 cup stock and again simmer over lowest heat for 3 hours. Put in refrigerator overnight. In the morning skim off fat. Peel tomatoes after drenching with boiling water. Add tomatoes to sauce along with remaining stock. Cook over moderate heat. After tomatoes have liquified, continue cooking until you have about 1 1/4 cups sauce remaining. Add salt and fresh pepper to taste. Use 2 or 3 tablespoons of sauce per serving.

SHORT-CUT SAUCE ESPAGNOLE

Steps:

• Cook lard and butter together over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add onion, bay leaf and thyme, cook till onion browns. With slotted spoon, remove onion and bay leaf. Reduce heat, sprinkle in flour, cook for 2 minutes, stirring well. Add wine. Raise heat and stirring with a sauce whisk, slowly add boiling stock. Add meat glaze. Now, depending how hurried you are, either add the peeled and seeded tomatoes and boil hard till tomatoes are liquified and entire sauce is reduced to 1 1/4 cups, or, more quickly, boil sauce hard until reduced to 1 1/4 cups and then dissolve tomato paste in a small quantity of hot sauce and add to rest of sauce. (Using tomato paste, the entire sauce takes about 1/2 hour.) Add salt and fresh pepper to taste. Allow 2 or 3 tablespoons of sauce per serving.