Mother Sauces - Roux Based

We are shifting focus here a bit. This time talking about the "food" part of the "food entrepreneurial" experience. I've always loved food. It's been a part of my family culture for as long as I can remember. Family dinners and holidays always centered around the table as we filled our plates and our hearts with love.

I took that passion and turned it into a career. Decided to attend culinary school, learned how to REALLY cook, and then began working in some of LA's best restaurants. It was on those hot lines where I really learned to be a chef. Here's your first chef lesson. Sauce, can make a dish incredible and is a way to add flavor and elevate any concept. In a way, sauce acts like a seasoning for a dish. Think about it, sauce should enhance the flavor of the dish, highlight the key ingredients in the dish but not dominate the dish just like any good "seasoning". In my opinion a chef that can make a great sauce is a real culinary artist. A good sauce in comprised of three things. A liquid, which serves as the body of the sauce, a thickening agent or emulsifier, which helps bring the sauce together, and any additional seasonings you’d like to add.

There are five mother sauces in French cooking, they serve as the foundational techniques of sauce making. Today, we are going to talk about the three roux based mother sauces. Veloute, espagnole and bechamel are the three mother sauces that involve making a roux. Roux is a thickening agent made from equal parts, by weight, of flour and fat, usually butter, and all purpose flour, cooked together. Cooking the roux for an extended period of time impacts how strongly it will thicken your sauce. A light (sand color) or brown roux will work for most soups and sauces, and serves as the strongest thickening roux. But, some dishes require a darker roux, to add depth of flavor, which means you’ll need to cook it longer. Darker roux's don’t have the thickening power lighter roux's have. And, beware, a brown roux can turn black and useless very quickly. So you’ll need to pay close attention to the amount of time and heat you apply to the roux. A veloute is a roux based sauce that usually features chicken stock. In its most basic form it is simply stock and roux cooked to the desired consistency, what the French call a la nappe or nappe. Espagnole, seems very similar to a veloute, they both use stock as a liquid and roux as a thickening agent. However, a traditional espagnole is made with mirepoix, beef bones that may have been roasted already and some addition of a tomato product all to add depth of flavor. Espagnole is a darker sauce that is usually reserved for red meat dishes. Bechamel, like a veloute is a liquid and roux cooked until nappe consistency. However, unlike a veloute, which uses stock as a liquid, a bechamel uses milk as the liquid in the sauce. Regardless of the liquid used, the technique stays the same. Cook the roux, add the liquid and reduce to nappe then season as desired. Want to try making a roux? Here's a simply volute recipe, let us know how it goes?

Veloute Roux based, “light” sauce. Made from chicken stock 1 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons butter

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon black pepper Heat butter and flour in a stock pot. Combine to create a roux and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add chicken stock and whisk until the roux dissolves. Bring to a simmer and reduce stock for 3-5 minutes. Add cream and reduce until consistency is nappe. Usually another 10-15 minutes. Finish with black pepper. Strain into a serving bowl.