Chef Juliette
Oriental Sauce
Sauce Orientale concentrates lobster-rich American Sauce with curry, then folds in cream away from the fire: a glossy, gently spiced derivative made for lobster, crayfish, and firm fish.
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Maltese Sauce
Created by Chef Juliette
Blood orange turns tepid Hollandaise into Sauce Maltaise, fragrant at the rim, bright through the butter, and made for asparagus. The lesson is temperature: warm citrus and gentle whisking keep the emulsion whole.
Sauces & Condiments
French
Dinner Party
Easter
Special Occasion
10 min
Active Time
10 min cook•20 min total
YieldAbout 2 quarts
Sauce Maltaise (Hollandaise brightened with blood orange) teaches the last and most delicate act of sauce-making: how to season an emulsion without breaking it. The one true thing is temperature. Blood orange juice and the sauce must both be tepid; cold juice shocks the butter, high heat cooks the yolks, and either can turn gloss to grease.
The source formula assumed a saucier beside a bain-marie, the warm-water bath, with finished Hollandaise Sauce (No. 30) ready and the oranges added at the instant of service. One cook needs a warm bowl over barely warm water and the citrus prepared before the asparagus is done. The tammy work belongs to the finished Hollandaise and isn't repeated here; that is brigade scaffolding. The orange juice and zest added at the last moment are the dish, so they stay exactly where the formula puts them.
Four blood oranges keep the book's proportion for this roughly two-quart batch, and the coffeespoon measure becomes a level half-teaspoon of zest so a home cook can repeat it. Whisk the juice in slowly, one addition at a time. That is the step that matters; if the emulsion falters, stop before adding another drop, because ça se rattrape.
Sauce maltaise belongs to the classical French sauce repertory rather than to one regional household table: it is a derivative built by finishing Hollandaise with blood orange at service. Its name follows the Maltaise orange of the classical pantry, not a claim that the sauce belongs to Malta's domestic cooking. Asparagus became its settled companion because the vegetable's green, faintly bitter edge answers the sauce's butter and sweet-tart citrus.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Hollandaise Sauce
Quantity
8 cups (1.9 L / about 1.8 kg) Hollandaise Sauce (No. 30)
freshly made and held tepid
blood orange juice
Quantity
Juice of 4 medium blood oranges, about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
at room temperature and strained
blood orange zest
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
finely grated
tepid water (optional)
Quantity
Up to 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
for loosening or rescue
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Hollandaise Saucefreshly made and held tepid | 8 cups (1.9 L / about 1.8 kg) Hollandaise Sauce (No. 30) |
| blood orange juiceat room temperature and strained | Juice of 4 medium blood oranges, about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
| blood orange zestfinely grated | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
| tepid water (optional)for loosening or rescue | Up to 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •4-quart heatproof mixing bowl
- •Medium saucepan for the bain-marie
- •Balloon whisk
- •Fine rasp grater
- •Fine-mesh strainer
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the blood oranges
Finely grate only the colored skin from one blood orange, stopping before the bitter white pith, and measure exactly ½ teaspoon. Juice all four oranges and strain out the seeds and pulp. Let the juice reach room temperature; if it still feels cool, nest its bowl briefly in warm water until it no longer chills your fingertip. Do not simmer or reduce it. The fresh perfume is the point.
- 2
Set the bain-marie
Put about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water in a saucepan and warm it gently, then take the pan off the heat. Set the freshly made Hollandaise Sauce (No. 30) in a heatproof bowl over the pan without letting the bowl touch the water. Whisk just until the sauce flows in a thick ribbon and feels pleasantly warm, about 45 to 50°C (113 to 122°F). If a slick of butter appears at the edge, lift the bowl away from the water and whisk until smooth before proceeding.
- 3
Whisk in the juice
Add the room-temperature blood orange juice about 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking each addition completely into the sauce before adding the next. Use all the juice, as the source formula directs. If the sauce turns grainy or beads of butter appear, stop. Ça se rattrape: put 1 teaspoon of tepid water in a clean bowl, whisk in a teaspoon of the broken sauce until creamy, then whisk in the remainder very gradually. Continue with the juice only when the emulsion is smooth again.
Pouring in all the citrus at once is the surest way to overwhelm the emulsion. Small additions give the butter time to accept the water and acidity. - 4
Finish with zest
Fold in the measured blood orange zest just before serving. The Sauce Maltaise should reach nappe, meaning it coats the back of a spoon while remaining lighter than its Hollandaise base. If it is too tight, whisk in tepid water 1 teaspoon at a time. If it seems loose, do not try to reduce it over direct heat; the citrus is meant to soften the consistency.
- 5
Hold and serve
Transfer the sauce to a warmed sauceboat, or keep the bowl over the off-heat bain-marie for no more than 20 minutes, whisking once or twice. It must remain tepid, never hot. Pour it generously over just-cooked asparagus while both are ready, because waiting is harder on this sauce than making it. À table!
Chef Tips
- •This sauce truly needs blood oranges. Choose fruit that feels heavy and smells floral at the skin; Moro, Tarocco, and Sanguinello all serve. An ordinary orange makes a pleasant orange Hollandaise, but it does not make Sauce Maltaise.
- •Butter, not margarine. The base must be a true Hollandaise Sauce (No. 30), because the flavor and structure both depend on real butter and properly emulsified yolks.
- •For four to six diners, halve every quantity exactly: 4 cups of Hollandaise Sauce (No. 30), the juice of 2 blood oranges, and ¼ teaspoon zest. C'est la même grammaire, only a smaller bowl.
- •Asparagus is the first and finest partner, particularly thick green or white spears cooked until a knife enters with slight resistance. Sauce Maltaise also suits poached sole, turbot, and young leeks, but the asparagus explains why the sauce endures.
Advance Preparation
- •The oranges may be juiced up to 4 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Return the juice to room temperature before mixing; grate the zest only at the finish, when its perfume is strongest.
- •Make the Hollandaise Sauce (No. 30) close to serving and keep it tepid. Convert it to Sauce Maltaise only when the asparagus or fish is nearly ready.
- •Finished Sauce Maltaise is not a make-ahead sauce. Serve it within 20 minutes, and do not chill and reheat it, because the emulsion will lose its smooth body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 32g)
Calories
160 calories
Total Fat
17 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
6 g
Cholesterol
95 mg
Sodium
120 mg
Total Carbohydrates
1 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
1 g
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