Chef Juliette
Apple Sauce
Sauce aux pommes turns four plain ingredients into a softly cinnamon-scented companion for roast duck, goose, or hare. Covered gentle cooking is the whole technique: let the apples slump in their juices, then whisk.
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PARSLEY SAUCE
Created by Chef Juliette
Sauce au Persil teaches the discipline of finishing: warm egg-and-cream butter sauce, parsley chopped at the last moment, and no boiling, so the texture stays silken and the green remains alive.
Sauces & Condiments
French
Comfort Food
Weeknight
10 min
Active Time
15 min cook•25 min total
YieldAbout 2 quarts
Sauce au Persil (parsley sauce) teaches restraint at the finish. Its liaison, the egg-and-cream thickening, is already built, the butter is already emulsified, and the parsley is not something to simmer into submission. The one true thing is simple: chop the herb at the last possible moment and fold it into the sauce away from the heat.
The formula assumes a saucier with Butter Sauce (No. 66) finished and ready for service, then gives the parsley by the pint. At home, one heavy saucepan and a sharp knife do the work. This batch preserves the book's ratio of one heaped tablespoon of parsley per pint; it needs no second straining because the base arrives complete from its own entry. That extra pass was brigade scaffolding. The last-minute parsley and the refusal to boil are the dish itself, and they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The finished sauce should fall from a spoon in an ivory ribbon, glossy with butter and brightly freckled with green. If the liaison begins to separate while warming, don't pour it out. Ça se rattrape, and the method below will bring it back. The decisive step remains the last one: take the pan off the heat before the parsley enters.
Sauce au Persil belongs to the Parisian classical sauce repertory, where cooks organized sauces as families and named each derivative according to the finishing ingredient that gave it character. From grand kitchens it passed naturally into cuisine bourgeoise, accompanying poached fish, poultry, eggs, and plainly cooked vegetables. It should not be confused with the milk-thickened parsley sauce of the British table; this French version rests on Butter Sauce (No. 66), whose yolks, cream, lemon, and finishing butter give it a richer structure.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Butter Sauce
Quantity
8 cups (1.9 liters / about 1.9 kg) Butter Sauce (No. 66)
finished and held below a simmer
fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems
Quantity
4 heaped tablespoons (about 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 20 g)
washed, thoroughly dried, and chopped at the last moment
cold water (optional)
Quantity
Up to 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 60 g)
only if needed to rescue or loosen the sauce
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Butter Saucefinished and held below a simmer | 8 cups (1.9 liters / about 1.9 kg) Butter Sauce (No. 66) |
| fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stemswashed, thoroughly dried, and chopped at the last moment | 4 heaped tablespoons (about 1/3 cup / 80 ml / 20 g) |
| cold water (optional)only if needed to rescue or loosen the sauce | Up to 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 60 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan
- •Flexible heatproof spatula
- •Balloon whisk
- •Sharp chef's knife and dry cutting board
- •Fine-mesh sieve for emergency rescue
Instructions
- 1
Warm the base gently
Place the Butter Sauce (No. 66) in a heavy saucepan over the lowest heat and stir steadily from the bottom with a flexible spatula. Warm it only until fluid, glossy, and pleasant for serving, about 150 to 160°F (65 to 70°C). It must not boil. If oily beads gather around the edge or the texture turns grainy, remove the pan immediately and whisk in 1 tablespoon of cold water; repeat only as needed until the sauce comes together. Ça se rattrape. Firm egg curds mean it boiled, so strain the sauce and serve it promptly, knowing the texture will be less fine.
A wide, heavy saucepan spreads the heat gently. A thin little pot creates hot spots, precisely what an egg liaison does not forgive. - 2
Chop the parsley
When the sauce is fully warm and everything else is ready for the table, gather the dry parsley and chop it cleanly with a sharp knife. Stop when the leaves form small, distinct green flecks. Don't work them into a wet paste with a dull blade or food processor; bruised parsley darkens quickly and gives its moisture to the sauce.
- 3
Finish off heat
Take the Butter Sauce (No. 66) completely off the heat. Add all 4 heaped tablespoons of chopped parsley, preserving the book's ratio of one heaped tablespoon per pint, and fold just until the green is evenly distributed. Do not strain the finished Sauce au Persil and do not return it to a simmer. The parsley belongs suspended in the sauce, fresh and unmistakable.
- 4
Check the nappage
Check the nappage, the sauce's coating consistency, by dipping in a spoon and drawing a finger across its back. The line should remain clean while the sauce falls in a broad, silken ribbon. If it has tightened too far, whisk in cold water 1 teaspoon at a time. If it seems loose, return it to the lowest heat only long enough to recover its body, stirring constantly and never allowing a bubble.
- 5
Serve without delay
Transfer the Sauce au Persil to a warm sauceboat or spoon it directly over poached fish, chicken, eggs, new potatoes, or cauliflower. Serve immediately, while the butter gleams and the parsley remains vivid. Holding dulls the herb and risks the liaison, so the table should be waiting for the sauce, not the other way round. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Flat-leaf parsley gives the cleanest flavour and chops into neat flecks. Wash it early enough to dry completely, because wet parsley loosens the sauce and darkens under the knife.
- •For a smaller table, keep the same proportion: use 1 heaped tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley for every 2 cups of Butter Sauce (No. 66). Reduce the quantity, never the technique.
- •Don't add salt or lemon automatically. Butter Sauce (No. 66) arrives seasoned and lemoned; taste first, because this derivative changes the aroma and colour, not the balance of the base.
- •Sauce au Persil is especially good with foods cooked gently and needing contrast: poached white fish, chicken breast, hard-cooked eggs, cauliflower, asparagus, or plain boiled potatoes.
Advance Preparation
- •Butter Sauce (No. 66) may be prepared earlier the same day. Press parchment directly against its surface, chill it promptly if it will stand for more than an hour, and reheat it over very gentle heat while stirring.
- •Wash and thoroughly dry the parsley up to a day ahead, then wrap it loosely in a clean towel and refrigerate it. Do not chop it until the warmed sauce is ready.
- •Finished Sauce au Persil is best served at once. If it must wait, cover its surface and hold it over barely warm water for no more than 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and never allowing it to simmer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 60g)
Calories
145 calories
Total Fat
14 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
40 mg
Sodium
175 mg
Total Carbohydrates
3 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
1 g
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