The Cook's Decameron Part 7

Sauces

As the three chief foundation sauces in cookery, Espagnole or brown sauce, Velute or white sauce, and Bechamel, are alluded to so often in these pages, it will be well to give simple Italian recipes for them.

Australian wines may be used in all recipes where wine is mentioned: Harvest Burgundy for red, and Cha.s.selas for Chablis.

No. 1. Espagnole, or Brown Sauce

The chief ingredient of this useful sauce is good stock, to which add any remnants and bones of fowl or game. b.u.t.ter the bottom of a stewpan with at least two ounces of b.u.t.ter, and in it put slices of lean veal, ham, bacon, cuttings of beef, fowl, or game tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, three peppercorns, mushroom tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, a tomato, a carrot and a turnip cut up, an onion stuck with two cloves, a bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, parsley and marjoram. Put the lid on the stewpan and braize well for fifteen minutes, then stir in a tablespoonful of flour, and pour in a quarter pint of good boiling stock and boil very gently for fifteen minutes, then strain through a tamis, skim off all the grease, pour the sauce into an earthenware vessel, and let it get cold. If it is not rich enough, add a little Liebig or glaze. Pa.s.s through a sieve again before using.

No. 2. Velute Sauce

The same as above, but use white stock, no beef, and only pheasant or fowl tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, b.u.t.ton mushrooms, cream instead of glaze, and a chopped shallot.

No. 3. Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients: b.u.t.ter, ham, veal, carrots, shallot, celery bay leaf, cloves, thyme, peppercorns, potato flour, cream, fowl stock.

Prepare a mirepoix by mixing two ounces of b.u.t.ter, tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs of lean veal and ham, a carrot, a shallot, a little celery, all cut into dice, a bay leaf, two cloves, four peppercorns, and a little thyme. Put this on a moderate fire so as not to let it colour, and when all the moisture is absorbed add a tablespoonful of potato flour. Mix well, and gradually add equal quant.i.ties of cream and fowl stock, and stir till it boils.

Then let it simmer gently. Stir occasionally, and if it gets too thick, add more cream and white stock. After two hours pa.s.s it twice slowly through a tamis so as to get the sauce very smooth.

No. 4. Mirepoix Sauce (for masking)

Ingredients: Bacon, onions, carrots, ham, a bunch of herbs, parsley, mushrooms, cloves, peppercorns, stock, Chablis.

Put the following ingredients into a stewpan: Some bits of bacon and lean ham, a carrot, all cut into dice, half an onion, a bunch of herbs, a few mushroom cuttings, two cloves, and four peppercorns. To this add one and a quarter pint of good stock and a gla.s.s of Chablis, boil rapidly for ten minutes then simmer till it is reduced to a third. Pa.s.s through a sieve and use for masking meat, fowl, fish, &c.

No. 5. Genoese Sauce

Ingredients: Onion, b.u.t.ter, Burgundy, mushrooms, truffles, parsley, bay leaf, Espagnole sauce (No.1), blond of veal, essence of fish, anchovy b.u.t.ter, crayfish or lobster b.u.t.ter.

Cut up a small onion and fry it in b.u.t.ter, add a gla.s.s of Burgundy, some cuttings of mushrooms and truffles, a pinch of chopped parsley and half a bay leaf. Reduce half. In another saucepan put two cups of Espagnole sauce, one cup of veal stock, and a tablespoonful of essence of fish, reduce one-third and add it to the other saucepan, skim off all the grease, boil for a few minutes, and pa.s.s through a sieve. Then stir it over the fire, and add half a teaspoonful of crayfish and half of anchovy b.u.t.ter.

No. 6. Italian Sauce

Ingredients: Chablis, mushrooms, leeks, a bunch of herbs, peppercorns, Espagnole sauce, game gravy or stock, lemon.

Put into a stewpan two gla.s.ses of Chablis, two tablespoonsful of mushroom tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, a leek cut up, a bunch of herbs, five peppercorns, and boil till it is reduced to half. In another stewpan mix two gla.s.ses of Espagnole (No. 1) or Velute sauce (No 2) and half a gla.s.s of game gravy, boil for a few minutes then blend the contents of the two stewpans, pa.s.s through a sieve, and add the juice of a lemon.

No. 7. Ham Sauce, Salsa di Prosciutto

Ingredients: Ham, Musca or sweet port, vinegar, basil spice.

Cut up an ounce of ham and pound it in a mortar then mix it with three dessert spoonsful of port or Musca and a teaspoonful of vinegar a little dried basil and a pinch of spice. Boil it up, and then pa.s.s it through a sieve and warm it up in a bain-marie. Serve with roast meats. If you cannot get a sweet wine add half a teaspoonful of sugar. Australian Muscat is a good wine to use.

No. 8. Tarragon Sauce

Ingredients: Tarragon, stock, b.u.t.ter, flour.

To half a pint of good stock add two good sprays of fresh tarragon, simmer for quarter of an hour in a stewpan and keep the lid on.

In another stewpan melt one ounce of b.u.t.ter and mix it with three dessert-spoonsful of flour, then gradually pour the stock from the first stewpan over it, but take out the tarragon. Mix well, add a teaspoonful of finely chopped tarragon and boil for two minutes.

No. 9. Tomato Sauce

Ingredients: Tomatoes, ham, onions, basil, salt, oil, garlic, spices.

Broil three tomatoes, skin them and mix them with a tablespoonful of chopped ham, half an onion, salt, a dessert-spoonful of oil, a little pounded spice and basil. Then boil and pa.s.s through a sieve. Whilst the sauce is boiling, put in a clove of garlic with a cut, but remove it before you pa.s.s the sauce through the sieve.

No. 10. Tomato Sauce Piquante

Ingredients: Ham, b.u.t.ter, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, thyme, cloves, peppercorns, vinegar, Chablis, stock, tomatoes, Velute or Espagnole sauce, castor sugar, lemon.

Cut up an ounce of ham, half an onion, half a carrot, half a stick of celery very fine, and fry them in b.u.t.ter together with a bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, one clove and four peppercorns. Over this pour a third of a cup of vinegar, and when the liquid is all absorbed, add half a gla.s.s of Chablis and a cup of stock. Then add six tomatoes cut up and strained of all their liquid. Cook this in a covered stewpan and pa.s.s it through a sieve, but see that none of the bay leaf or thyme goes through. Mix this sauce with an equal quant.i.ty of Velute (No. 2) or Espagnole sauce, (No. 1), let it boil and pa.s.s through a sieve again and at the last add a teaspoonful of castor sugar, the juice of half a lemon, and an ounce of fresh b.u.t.ter. (Another tomato sauce may be made like this, but use stock instead of vinegar and leave out the lemon juice and sugar.)