Friday, June 25, 2010

Roquefort Sauce


I was watching Dinner Impossible the other night on Food Network and Robert Irvine, the host, was barking, "Make me a sauce!" to one of his cooks.

     "Make me a sauce!" I thought. "What sauces can I make?" The answer is pretty simple. Not too many. Time to fix that.

     This Roquefort Sauce is pretty simple and involves just two steps beyond those required for a Veloute. I learned it from a friend's wife when she prepared it to top some steaks. If you can't find Roquefort, substitute a crumbled Blue Cheese of your choice.

Roquefort Sauce

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups veal, fish or chicken stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 to 3/4 cup Roquefort cheese

Directions
1. In a small saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer.

2. Meanwhile, prepare a white roux by melting the butter over low heat. Whisk in the flour a bit at a time until smooth.

3. Increase the heat to medium and whisk in the stock. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and cook until the taste of the flour has vanished. This may take 10 to 20 minutes. You may skim any skin that forms on the surface with a spoon. Whisk frequently.

4. Strain through a chinois or fine mesh strainer if necessary.

5. Return sauce to saucepan and stir in cream. Bring to a slight simmer and heat until sauce is nape.

6. Remove from heat and stir in Roquefort until desired level of sharpness is achieved. Whisk until smooth.

Notes
This sauce is great for beef, elk, venison and potatoes. Because the sauce is rather sharp, balance it with a side dish that is sweet, like oven roasted tomatoes.

Master Cylinder climbed into the light box to see what was what.

2 comments:

  1. I think you'll like it. The key is to get a nice sharp flavor, then balance it with something sweet. :)

    That, and it's french so you can't go wrong!

    ReplyDelete