Mrs Beetons Sauces Revisited
Sauce Piquante
(for Cutlets, Roast Meat, etc.)
285ml (½ pint) Medium Stock
50g (2oz) Butter
6 Shallots
1 Small Carrot
1 Small Bunch Savoury Herbs, including Parsley
2 slices Lean Ham, finely minced
4 tbsp Vinegar
6 Peppercorns
3 Whole Allspice
2 Cloves
1 Blade Mace
½ Bay Leaf
1 Sugar Lump
Pinch Cayenne
Salt to taste
Put the butter into a saucepan, with the carrot and shallots, which have been cut into small slices.
Add the herbs, bay leaf, spices and ham and simmer over a low heat, until the bottom of the saucepan is covered with a brown glaze.
Stir constantly with a wooden spoon and add the remaining ingredients.
Simmer very gently for 15 minutes, skim off all fat.
Strain the sauce through a sieve and serve very hot.
Care must be taken that this sauce be not made too acid, although it should possess a sharpness indicated by its name.
Of course the above quantity of vinegar may be increased or diminished at pleasure, according to taste.
Time: Altogether ½ hour.
Average cost: 10d.
Sufficient for a medium-sized dish of cutlets.
Seasonable at any time.
SAUCE PIQUANTE, for Cutlets, Roast Meat, &c.
513. INGREDIENTS - 2 oz. of butter, 1 small carrot, 6 shalots, 1 small bunch of savoury herbs, including parsley, 1/2 a bay-leaf, 2 slices of lean ham, 2 cloves, 6 peppercorns, 1 blade of mace, 3 whole allspice, 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 1/2 pint of stock (No. 104 or 105), 1 small lump of sugar, 1/4 saltspoonful of cayenne, salt to taste.
Mode - Put into a stewpan the butter, with the carrot and shalots, both of which must be cut into small slices; add the herbs, bay-leaf, spices, and ham (which must be minced rather finely), and let these ingredients simmer over a slow fire, until the bottom of the stewpan is covered with a brown glaze. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon, and put in the remaining ingredients. Simmer very gently for 1/4 hour, skim off every particle of fat, strain the sauce through a sieve, and serve very hot. Care must be taken that this sauce be not made too acid, although it should possess a sharpness indicated by its name. Of course the above quantity of vinegar may be increased or diminished at pleasure, according to taste.
Time - Altogether 1/2 hour.
Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient for a medium-sized dish of cutlets.
Seasonable at any time.
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