Espagnole Sauce

From the kitchen of Carly

The mother sauce that built French cuisine: butter and flour form a deep brown roux, then beef stock and tomato purée marry with caramelized vegetables and aromatics. Long, gentle simmering transforms them into rich, velvety espagnole, the foundation for countless refined sauces.

Prep
n/a
Cook
n/a
Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 11 small carrot, coarsely chopped
  • 11 medium onion, coarsely chopped
  • 11/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
  • 11/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 14 cups hot beef stock or reconstituted beef-veal demi-glace concentrate*
  • 11/4 cup canned tomato purée
  • 12 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 11 celery rib, coarsely chopped
  • 11/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 11 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf

Instructions

  1. Cook carrot and onion in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Add flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until medium brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Add hot stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then add tomato purée, garlic, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 cups, about 45 minutes.

  2. Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.

  3. *Available at some specialty foods shops and cooking.com (stock requires a dilution ratio of 1:16; 1/4 cup concentrate to 4 cups water).