Lenten Espagnole

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart heavy saucepan with a pale interior
• •2 to 3 quart saucepan for warming the fish fumet
• •Balloon whisk and flat-edged wooden spoon
• •Shallow skimming spoon or small ladle
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Two shallow 1 quart storage containers

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the foundation

   Warm the fish fumet in a separate saucepan until small bubbles gather around the edge, then hold it there without boiling. Have the Mirepoix (No. 228) completed according to its own formula with the bacon omitted, and use the clean mushroom parings in its place. Keep the tomato purée and bouquet garni beside the stove. Once the roux begins browning, it deserves your full attention.

2. 2

   Cook the brown roux

   Melt the clarified butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour, then trade the whisk for a wooden spoon and cook for 18 to 25 minutes, stirring across the corners and floor without pause, until the roux is an even deep hazelnut colour and smells warmly toasted. This browning is the foundation, not disposable scaffolding. Black flecks or an acrid smell mean the roux has burned and must be started again; bitterness cannot be skimmed away.

   A heavy, pale-lined saucepan makes the changing colour easier to judge. Keep the heat moderate. The roux should brown through patient cooking, not scorch against the pot.
3. 3

   Moisten the roux

   Take the saucepan off the heat for two minutes, then whisk in about 2 cups of the hot fish fumet, one ladle at a time, making each addition completely smooth before the next. If lumps form, stop pouring and whisk firmly off the heat; if a few remain stubborn, pass this small amount through a fine sieve and return it to the pan. Ça se rattrape. Gradually whisk in the remaining fumet, then add the tomato purée, the prepared Mirepoix (No. 228), and the bouquet garni. Bring the sauce just to a boil while whisking, then immediately lower the heat.

4. 4

   Dépouiller one hour

   Hold the sauce at the barest simmer for one hour. A few lazy bubbles should break around the perimeter while the centre remains calm. Every five to ten minutes, draw off the foam and excess fat gathering at the edge with a shallow spoon; this is dépouiller, skimming the sauce clear without stirring the impurities back through it. If the sauce thickens before the hour is complete, add a little hot fish fumet. Do not shorten the skimming, and do not continue it beyond the single hour prescribed for this fish-based Espagnole.

5. 5

   Strain and correct

   Remove the bouquet garni and pass the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan without crushing the mirepoix against the mesh, which would muddy the result. Measure the strained sauce. If there is more than 8 cups, simmer it gently until reduced; if there is less or it coats too heavily, add enough hot fish fumet to restore the yield. The finished Espagnole should nappe the back of a spoon in a smooth, even veil, not sit upon it like paste. Taste only now and add salt if the fumet requires it.

6. 6

   Use or cool

   Use the Espagnole Maigre wherever a Lenten preparation calls for ordinary Espagnole. For Gratins (No. 268), add only the quantity directed by that separate formula. For make-ahead storage, divide the remaining sauce between shallow containers and set them in an ice bath, stirring occasionally until cool, then cover and refrigerate promptly. Reheat at a bare simmer and whisk in a spoonful of fish fumet if the chilled sauce has tightened.

Chef Tips

• •Mushroom parings means clean stem ends and tidy trimmings from sound mushrooms, not soil-dark scrapings. Their work is to replace the savoury depth of bacon in the Mirepoix (No. 228), so stale or slimy pieces have no place in the pot.
• •The fish fumet must taste clean and lightly concentrated before it enters the roux. A heavily salted commercial seafood stock becomes harsh during reduction; dilute it until it tastes like a fine broth, then let the sauce build the concentration.
• •Clarified butter gives the roux enough patience to brown without burning milk solids. It is still butter, only cleared of water and milk proteins. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Espagnole Maigre is a mother sauce, not a finished spoon-over sauce. Its strength is what it becomes in Gratins (No. 268), Genevoise sauce, and other fish preparations that need the body of Espagnole without meat.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the fish fumet and Mirepoix (No. 228) a day ahead, chill them promptly, and keep them covered. Bring the fumet back to a gentle simmer before beginning the roux.
• •The finished sauce keeps for up to three days under refrigeration. Cool it quickly in shallow containers rather than leaving the full pot on the counter.
• •For longer storage, freeze the cooled sauce in useful portions for up to three months. Thaw it in the refrigerator, reheat gently, and correct the consistency with fish fumet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 255g)