Nothing too posh, please

As I wasn't born in the UK, I missed out on some wonderful foods growing up. For instance crumpets and potato cakes but also spam fritters, treacle tart and 'fly pie'. And I have had to do without toad-in-the-hole, Yorkshire puddings and the illustrious dish called wigwams (a pile of cheese-y mash with three sausages (placed upright around the mash to form a teepee) with a 'moat' of baked beans in tomato sauce). Life just isn't fair sometimes...

What I did grow up with though are frikandellen, kroketten and stamppot. The Dutch (and Belgians) have a love for the deep-fat fryer, although I had never even heard of a deep fried mars bar and have yet to taste this concoction... We do, however, deep fry cheese souffles (although they are not the kind that you would normally bake in the oven) and egg fried rice. When people ask me if I miss anything from back there, frikandel and kaassoufflé are my first answers. But that is only because I still haven't been able to find a good recipe to make them at home.

Stamppot (which is basically a type of bubble and squeak) is something that I make quite regularly and my husband loves it, especially when made with Brussels sprouts or curly kale. But it's kroketten that I got him hooked on. The French call them croquettes, very posh for something very simple. Meat, poultry, vegetables, cheese or even fish in a very thick white or brown sauce (Béchamel, Velouté or Espagnole) encased in breadcrumbs, fried until golden and crispy.

There are some conflicting stories going round as to where the kroket originates but clear is that it was used as a way of getting rid of leftovers and were often served as a starter to a meal. Later they also became popular at parties in the form of golf ball sized bites, called bitterbal. The base for the kroket is always the same; a very thick 'ragout' made of either Béchamel, Velouté or Espagnole and a filling. The filling itself, as you can imagine, can be as diverse as you want it to be. This is perfect as you can adjust the filling to likes and dislikes but also in regards of cultural, religious or self-imposed dietary restrictions.

Beef Kroketten

Ingredients:

• 600 gram cooked beef (either from making stock or use the beef from your favourite beef stew)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• ½ liter stock or milk
• pepper,salt, mace, nutmeg to taste
• flour
• eggs or egg whites
• (toasted) breadcrumbs
• Oil (or fat such as lard) for frying

Method:

Chop the meat very finely or pull apart with two forks

• I prefer to use homemade beef stew that I cook for so long (3-4 hours) that the beef falls apart when pressed with a fork or spoon
1. Melt the butter on medium heat and add the flour as soon as the butter stops foaming
2. Stir the flour and butter on medium heat until it turns a golden colour (3-4 minutes) (this makes a roux) and add the stock or milk
• I prefer to use the liquid that is left over from the beef stew, with some water or stock added to make up the volume
3. Whisk the sauce for about 2-3 minutes to cook out the flour and add the spices and the beef (this makes a ragout)
4. Leave the ragout to cool completely
• To make the kroketten it is easiest to do so when the ragout is very cold so I tend to make the ragout at least a day in advance
• You can keep the ragout in the fridge until needed but can also be frozen for a later date
5. Once you are ready to make the kroketten, prepare three bowls (or soup plates):
1. (seasoned) flour
2. lightly beaten eggs or egg whites
3. breadcrumbs
6. Lightly flour your hands and form the ragout into sticks of about 10 by 3 cm
• If necessary, return the formed kroketten to the fridge as it is easier to bread them when they are cold
7. Cover each kroket in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs making sure to cover the kroketten completely otherwise the ragout could leak out during the deep fat frying
• Try using one hand for the flour and breadcrumb and the other hand for the egg
• You can repeat this step for a thicker, crispier crust and to ensure that the kroketten won't leak during frying
8. Place the breaded kroketten in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up
9. Heat the fat to about 180^oC
10. Fry the kroketten, in batches, for about 4 minutes until golden brown
11. Remove the kroketten from the pan onto some paper towels to drain any excess fat

The list of fillings you can use is only limited to your own preferences and imagination but here are some ideas:

Meat kroketten: You can use any soup meat (beef, chicken) but also veal or lamb, and lovely kroketten are made with sweetbreads.
Cheese kroketten: use milk in making the roux, replace the meat with cheese and season to taste with white pepper, nutmeg and parsley. I like to grate about 400 gram of the cheese into the sauce before cooling and add the leftover cheese once cold. You can use almost any cheese you like (Gouda, Stilton, Roquefort, Cheddar), but I find that very old or dry cheeses like Parmigiana Reggiano or old Pecorino are better when you combine them with other cheeses.
Fish kroketten: Use fish stock, and herbs like dill or chives.
Game kroketten: For these you use a brown roux: Let the butter colour slightly more before adding flour, keep the fire higher than when making a blond roux, cook the butter/flour paste a little longer. Use more butter/flour than for a blond roux, 70 gram each for a half litre of liquid. Use good (game) stock for the sauce.
Vegetable kroketten: Make a blond roux with milk or vegetable stock, add blanched vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, peas). You can add some cheese and herbs to taste. Mushroom kroketten are better with a ragout made with meat stock (or the liquid that dried mushrooms have been steeped in).

Have fun making your own variations and enjoy with your choice of condiment; mine is very traditional: mustard.

As they say in The Netherlands

Eet smakelijk

Or, in just plain old English

Enjoy

The base is brown.

Two days ago, I wrote about one of the five mother sauces, Sauce Béchamel or white sauce. Yesterday I wrote about the second of the mother sauces, Sauce Velouté. Today is all about the third mother sauce; Sauce Espagnole. This is the last of the mother sauces that is based on roux. For this sauce, the roux is cooked for the longest amount of time to a deep brown colour (done on a low heat to prevent the roux from burning). The liquid used is brown stock. This makes it similar to a Velouté but the difference is that Espagnole is made with tomato puree and mirepoix (a combination of chopped carrots, celery and onions) for a deeper colour and flavour. Moreover, brown stock itself is made from bones that have first been roasted, which adds even more colour and flavour to the finished sauce.

To make matters even more 'complicated', the sauce is further 'refined' to make what is called a 'demi-glace' (a very fancy word for a reduction of half and half Sauce Espagnole and brown stock). As it is the demi-glace that is mainly used to make the 'small' sauces, this is an important step but time is always limited so, for a shortcut, you could skip the demi-glace step and make the small sauces directly from the mother sauce. You will, however, lose some flavour and body in the finished product. A trick professional kitchens have is to make enormous batches of sauces that they can keep on hand for when they are required but most of us won't have the massive pans used for this, nor the space to keep it afterwards, so the shortcut is definitely an option...

So, what is a sauce exactly? In principle it is a liquid that is combined with some sort of thickening agent and flavourings. Each of the five mother sauces is made with a different liquid, and a different thickening agent — although three of the mother sauces are thickened with roux, in each case the roux is cooked for a different amount of time to produce a lighter or darker colour.

Roux is melted butter (or fat) and flour: melt butter in a pan until 'frothing', add an equal amount of plain flour and stir (using a whisk is the best method to prevent lumps) until a thick paste forms, cook at least until the raw flour taste is gone (it will start smelling biscuit-y).
How long you cook it for depends on which type of sauce you want to make. How much butter and flour you use depends on how thick you want your sauce to be:

• Pouring sauce: one tablespoon each of butter and flour to 240 millilitre of milk
• Medium sauce: two tablespoons each of butter and flour to 240 millilitre of milk
• Thick sauce: three tablespoons each of butter and flour to 240 millilitre of milk

A lot of chefs prefer to use clarified butter to make a roux as this has a higher burning point than butter. Although I normally don't really bother doing this and just keep a close eye on the pan, for a brown roux I do make a difference as the roux needs to cook for a longer period of time and I do not want a bitter, burned flavour. Clarified butter has all the milk solids and water removed so that only the pure fat remains:

1. Gently melt unsalted butter in a saucepan over low heat. As the butter melts, you'll see a layer of foam rising to the surface. The bubbles are the butter's water content boiling off, and the white residue is the milk solids separating out from the butterfat and water
2. As the butter continues to simmer, use a ladle to skim the foam and milk solids from the surface of the liquefied butter. Note the clear, golden liquid underneath the foamy residue. This is different from the technique for making ghee, in which the milk solids are allowed to settle to the bottom and turn slightly brown
• Keep a separate bowl for the milk solids you skim off — it's fantastic on popcorn! You can also add the leftover milk solids to mashed potatoes or as a topping for vegetables. They're also be delicious over pancakes, waffles or French toast
3. In a few minutes you'll have skimmed off most of the milk solids, leaving just the pure, yellow butterfat

As Sauce Espagnole is made with brown stock, here is a recipe if you have never made this before.

Sauce Espagnole

Ingredients:

• 500 gram mirepoix
• 260 gram diced onion
• 120 gram diced carrot
• 120 gram diced celery sticks
• 3 tablespoons clarified butter
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 ½ litre brown stock
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• Herb sachet
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 fresh parsley stems

Method:

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat until it becomes frothy
2. Add the mirepoix and fry for a few minutes until it's lightly browned, making sure it doesn't burn
3. With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the mirepoix a little bit at a time, until it is fully incorporated and forms a roux
• Lower the heat and cook the roux for another five minutes or so, until it's light brown. Don't let it burn! The roux will have a slightly nutty aroma at this point
4. Using a whisk, slowly add the stock and tomato paste to the roux, whisking vigorously to make sure it's free of lumps
5. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, add the sachet and simmer for about 50 minutes or until the total volume has reduced by about a third, stirring frequently to make sure the sauce doesn't scorch at the bottom of the pan. Use a ladle to skim off any impurities that rise to the surface
6. Remove the sauce from the heat and remove the sachet
• For an extra smooth consistency, carefully pour the sauce through a wire mesh strainer lined with a piece of cheesecloth
7. Serve hot. If not serving the sauce right away, keep it covered and warm until you're ready to use it.

To make a demi-glace, use the full amount as above (about 1 litre) of Sauce Espagnole and the same amount of brown stock and, over low heat, reduce by half (you should have about a litre of demi-glace). All the recipes below are based on this amount of sauce, unless stated otherwise.

Sauce Marchand de Vin (with roasts and steak)
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 240 millilitre red wine and 60 gram finely chopped shallots. Heat until the liquid boils, lower the heat a bit and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced to only a quarter. Add the demi-glace, then lower heat to a simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer, season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve right away.

Sauce Robert (with grilled pork and other meats)
In a small bowl, combine ½ teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter and cook 120 gram chopped onions until soft and translucent, but don't let them turn brown. Add 240 millilitre white wine, heat until the liquid boils, then lower the heat a bit and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds. Add the demi-glace, then lower the heat to a simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer, add 2 teaspoons dry mustard and the sugar-lemon mixture. Serve right away.

Sauce Charcutière (with grilled pork and other meats)
In a small bowl, combine ½ teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter and cook 120 gram chopped onions until soft and translucent, but don't let them turn brown. Add 240 millilitre white wine, heat until the liquid boils, then lower the heat a bit and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds. Add the demi-glace, then lower the heat to a simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer, add 2 teaspoons mustard and the sugar-lemon mixture. Garnish with 60 gram chopped cornichons and serve right away.

Sauce Lyonnaise (with roasted meats and poultry)
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter and cook 120 gram chopped onions until they turn a light golden brown. Add 120 millilitre white wine vinegar, heat until the liquid boils, then lower the heat a bit and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the demi-glace, then lower heat to a simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer and serve right away.

Sauce Chasseur (perfect for game dishes)
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until it's frothy. Add 250 gram sliced mushrooms and 2 finely chopped shallots and fry until the mushrooms are soft and the shallots are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add 240 millilitre white wine, heat until the liquid boils, then lower the heat a bit and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by about three-fourths. Add the demi-glace and 250 gram diced tomato, then lower heat to a simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon chopped parsley and serve right away.

Sauce Bercy (with roasts and steaks, not to be mistaken for the Sauce Bercy Velouté that is served with seafood)
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 60 millilitre white wine and 1 finely chopped shallots. Heat until the liquid boils, then lower the heat a bit and continue simmering until the liquid has reduced by about three-fourths. Add 475 millilitre demi-glace, then lower heat to a simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes.

Mushroom Sauce (with roasted or grilled meat)
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until it's frothy. Add 250 gram sliced mushrooms and 1 finely chopped shallot and fry until the mushrooms are soft and the shallots are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the demi-glace, bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer and reduce for about 10 minutes. Stir in 60 millilitre sherry, season to taste with lemon juice and serve right away.

Madeira or Port Sauce (with roasts and steak)

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 475 millilitre demi-glace to a simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes. Stir in 60 millilitre Madeira or Port wine and swirl in 2 tablespoons butter. Serve right away.

Ten new sauces, all perfect for grilled and roasted meats, from steak to pork to poultry to game. Variations are practically limitedless, so make sure to vary the ingredients (especially the herbs, although so-called wood herbs tend to work best). The Sauce Espagnole might look daunting at first but is well worth a try (if you have some free time over the weekend).

Tomorrow I will post the fourth mother sauce, so stay tuned and, most importantly

Enjoy

The base is white.

Some meals just wouldn't be the same without a bit of sauce. Just think of Lasagna, Fish Pie or Eggs Benedict; you just wouldn't eat it without a sauce. The Romans used sauce to mask the flavour and smell of ingredients that were... let's say... less than fresh.

Did you know that there are five sauces, called mother sauces, that are the basis for most other sauces? The mother sauces are: Sauce Béchamel, Sauce Espagnole, Sauce Velouté, Sauce Hollandaise and Sauce Tomate. The reason that they are called Mother Sauce (Sauce Mere) is because each of them is the 'head of a unique family' of sauces. The sauces based on the mother sauce is called 'small sauce'. Velouté is the exception as this has three 'daughter sauces'.

1. Sauce Béchamel: milk-based sauce, thickened with a white roux
2. Sauce Espagnole: a fortified brown stock sauce, thickened with a brown roux
3. Sauce Velouté: light stock-based sauce, thickened with a roux or a liaison, a mixture of egg yolks and cream
4. Sauce Hollandaise: an emulsion of egg yolk, butter and lemon or vinegar
5. Sauce Tomate: tomato-based

So, what is a sauce exactly? In principle it is a liquid that is combined with some sort of thickening agent and flavourings. Each of the five mother sauces is made with a different liquid, and a different thickening agent — although three of the mother sauces are thickened with roux, in each case the roux is cooked for a different amount of time to produce a lighter or darker colour.

Roux is melted butter (or fat) and flour: melt butter in a pan until 'frothing', add an equal amount of plain flour and stir (using a whisk is the best method to prevent lumps) until a thick paste forms, cook at least until the raw flour taste is gone (it will start smelling biscuit-y).
How long you cook it for depends on which type of sauce you want to make. How much butter and flour you use depends on how thick you want your sauce to be:

• Pouring sauce: one tablespoon each of butter and flour to 240 millilitre of milk
• Medium sauce: two tablespoons each of butter and flour to 240 millilitre of milk
• Thick sauce: three tablespoons each of butter and flour to 240 millilitre of milk

Sauce Béchamel, or white sauce, is one of the easiest to make and seems 'boring' to a lot of people but, made well, can be very tasty and is a must if you want to make Lasagna or Fish Pie.

Sauce Béchamel

Ingredients:

• Butter
• Flour
• Milk
• Salt and white pepper
• Flavourings such as onion (studded with cloves), bay leaf and nutmeg are all optional

Method:

1. Add milk to a pan with a whole onion (studded with a few cloves) and a bay leaf and bring to a simmer
2. Remove the flavourings (if used)
3. Make a roux as above
4. Add the warm milk as soon as the roux starts smelling biscuit-y but is still white or pale-yellow
5. Whisk the milk into the roux and leave for a couple of minutes to thicken
6. Season the sauce with salt and white pepper and a pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Sauce Mornay

Make a medium sauce béchamel and add 60 gram grated gruyere. Mix the cheese well with the sauce and leave to melt.

Sauce Moutarde (or Mustard Sauce)
Make a pouring sauce béchamel and add one tablespoon of whole grain mustard. Mix the mustard into the sauce and leave for a further minute to cook off the harsh flavour.

Sauce Soubise
Heat 30 gram butter in a frying pan and add two roughly chopped onions. Fry the onions until soft and translucent. Add the onions to a blender and puree until smooth Make a medium sauce béchamel and add the onion puree.

Sauce Nantua

This is by far the most complex sauce, not because it is difficult to make but because there are several more ingredients and steps necessary to make this sauce but the effort is well worth it.

Ingredients:

• 30 gram butter
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 onion, very finely sliced
• 250 gram raw shrimp or crawfish (with shells and heads on)
• 2 tablespoons cognac
• 125 millilitre white wine
• 375 millilitre fish stock
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• pinch of ground paprika (mild)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 fresh sprig of thyme
• medium sauce béchamel

Method:

1. Heat the butter over low heat
2. Add the carrots and onions and fry for 2 minutes
3. Chop the shrimp/crawfish and add them to the pan
4. Turn up the heat and fry until the shrimp/crawfish turn bright red, about 3 minutes
5. Add the cognac and white wine and reduce the liquid by half
6. Add the stock, bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by half again
7. Add the tomato paste, cayenne, paprika, bay leaf and thyme and cook for 30 minutes
8. Stir in the medium sauce béchamel and let bubble a further 10 minutes
9. Remove the bay leaf and thyme and pour the contents of the pan into a blender and blend
10. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing with a ladle to get as much of the 'juice'
11. Pour the sauce back into a pan and return to the boil
12. Reduce the sauce by a third and season to taste with salt and white pepper

So now you have the perfect sauces but what do you use them for? Here is a list of ideas:

1. Sauce Béchamel
• Cream of ... soup - thin out the sauce with a little more milk or good stock and add fried mushrooms, asparagus, chicken, or anything else you fancy
• Lasagna
• Souflé (use the thick sauce for the best result)
• Gratins
• Meat croquettes (use the thick sauce for the best result)
2. Sauce Mornay
• Gratins
• Cheese souflé (use the thick sauce for the best result)
• Eggs
• Vegetables
• Chicken
• Seafood
• Veal Prince Orloff
3. Mustard Sauce
• Cold cooked meats
• Vegetables
• Fish
• Steak
• Pork
4. Sauce Soubise
• Vegetables
• Chicken
• Fish
• Cold roasts
5. Sauce Nantua
• Fish
• Shellfish

Four different sauces for any occasion and all based on that simple, classic, white sauce. But there are many more varieties: Parsley sauce, Crème sauce, Cheddar sauce, Mushroom sauce to name but a few.

Tomorrow I will post the next mother sauce, so stay tuned and, most importantly

Enjoy