Jeeny Maltese shares her recipes for French mother sauces and Latin sauces pn The Brendan O'Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1.

Ingredients

French Mother Sauces:

Bechamel, Veloute, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Sauce Tomat.

Bechamel Sauce:

  • 1 l milk
  • 70 g butter
  • 70 g flour¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • Sea Salt
  • White or Black Pepper

Red Wine Jus:
Jus is a French culinary term for a specific type of sauce made from the 'juice' (aka 'jus') of cooked
meat, which is why it is typically served as an accompaniment to meat. It's made by reducing wine and
meat stock with onion and Mediterranean herbs until you have a rich, flavoursome and highly
concentrated sauce.

Just think of this red wine reduction sauce as a spin-off of espagnole sauce. The lavish red wine gravy
has a similar consistency to espagnole, but the finished result is more umami-forward and tangy. Plus,
its natural sweetness makes it the perfect companion to filet mignon, pork tenderloin, and short ribs.

  • 1 teaspoon Butter
  • 1 large Shallot Finely Chopped
  • 1 clove Garlic Finely Chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar
  • 200 ml Red Wine
  • 300 ml beef stock
  • 1 Sprig Fresh Thyme or Rosemary
  • 2 bay leaves (optional)
  • Sea Salt and Black Pepper
  • Optional Extras
  • 1 pinch Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Butter
  • Left over juices from roasted meat

Guasacaca Salsa:

  • 2 ripe avocados, diced
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 small green pepper, roughly chopped
  • 1 medium jalapeño, roughly chopped (optional)
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup packed fresh coriander
  • 1/4 cup packed fresh parsley
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice from 1 lime
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • Sea salt and black pepper

Authentic Chimichurri Salsa (Argentina, Bolivia)

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
  • 3-4 cloves garlic , finely chopped or minced
  • 2 small red chilies , or 1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon
  • finely chopped chili)
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 level teaspoon coarse salt
  • pepper, to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)

The five Mother Sauces for dessert:
Simple Syrup. Chocolate Sauce, Sabayon, Crème Anglaise, Fruit Sauce.

Coulis (Made from pureed & strained vegetable or fruits).

  • 450g raspberries
  • ½ lemon, juiced
  • 3 Tbsp. icing sugar (or honey)

Method

Bechamel Sauce:

  1. In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Once the butter is melted, add the flour and mix to combine the two ingredients.
  2. After a couple of minutes, the flour and the butter mix will form a roux which begins to colour. Do not wait for the mixture to get over heated.
  3. Remove from the heat as soon as the roux reaches a light golden colour, then let cool.
  4. While the roux cools down, bring the milk to a boil in a non-stick pan.
  5. Pour the milk over the roux, and whisk vigorously to prevent the formation of lumps.
  6. When the hot milk is completely poured over the roux, place the pan back on a low heat.
  7. Mix continuously with a whisk, until reaching a thicker consistency. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon.
  8. Season with salt and pepper and add the freshly grated nutmeg. (From this "mother" sauce you can create "daughter" sauces like, cheddar sauce, cream sauce (cream), mornay, soubise, or the base of a traditional English parsley sauce, etc.)

Red Wine Jus:

  1. Heat the butter in a frying pan, fry the shallot on low heat for 2 minutes.
  2. Add the garlic and vinegar, stir for 1 minute.
  3. Pour in the red wine and sprig of herbs, bring to the boil then lower to medium heat
  4. allowing the wine to reduce for 5 minutes.
  5. Now add the beef stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. (It can be served with
  6. the shallots in; just remove the herb sprig).
  7. Season with sea salt and black pepper. For extra creaminess and a glossy sauce add more
  8. butter at the end.
  9. For a smooth red wine sauce - use a sieve over a jug to remove the onion and herbs.
  10. If you have cooked steak or other meat/vegetables in another pan.
  11. Add the finished red wine sauce and deglaze the pan picking up all the leftover sediments
  12. and juice to add more flavour to the jus. (Add a pinch of sugar if you like a sweeter sauce,
  13. depending on the acidity of the wine). Serve with lamb, steak or any roasted meats.


Guasacaca Salsa:

  1. For the guasacaca salsa, just blend all ingredients until completely smooth and store in
  2. the fridge in an airtight container.
  3. Serve on salads, steak, fish, seafood, Grilled & BBQ vegetables, etc.

Authentic Chimichurri Salsa (Argentina, Bolivia)

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes to release all of the flavours into the oil before using. Ideally, let it sit for more than 2 hours, if time allows.
  2. Chimichurri can be prepared earlier than needed, and refrigerated for 24 hours, if needed.
  3. Use to baste meats (chicken or steaks) while grilling or barbecuing. You can use it as a marinade if you wish. Traditionally is serve over steak, roasted meat or seafood.
  4. Delicious as a salad dressing too!.


Coulis

  1. Put all the ingredients in a processor or blend with a hand blender, until completely smooth.
  2. Put through a sieve to discard any seeds and have a smooth and delicious coulis sauce. The sauce is ready to serve with a chocolate dessert, panna cotta, pies, ice cream, pancakes, etc.
  3. Will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days or in the freezer for a few weeks