Jewish Cook Book - Sauces for Fish & Vegetables

This is the Sauces for Fish & Vegetables section of this book

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Sauces for fish and vegetables
These sauces are made by combining butter and flour and thinning with water or other liquid. A sauce should never be thickened by adding a mixture of flour and water, as in that case the flour is seldom well cooked; or by adding flour alone, as this way is certain to cause lumps. The flour should be allowed to cook before the liquid is added.

All sauces containing butter and milk should be cooked in a double boiler.

If so desired, any neutral oil—that is, vegetable or nut oil—may be substituted for the butter called for in the recipe.

Care in preparation of a sauce is of as much importance as is the preparation of the dish the sauce garnishes.

Drawn butter sauce
Melt two tablespoons of butter and stir in two tablespoons of flour. Add carefully one cup of boiling water, then season with one-half teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper and paprika.

Many sauces are made with drawn butter as a foundation. For caper sauce add three tablespoons of capers.

For egg sauce add one egg, hard-boiled and chopped fine.

Bearnaise sauce
There are several ways of making Bearnaise sauce. This is one very simple rule: Bring to the boil two tablespoons each of vinegar and water. Simmer in it for ten minutes a slice of onion. Take out the onion and add the yolks of three eggs beaten very light. Take from the fire, add salt and pepper to season, and four tablespoons of butter beaten to a cream, and added slowly.

Quick Bearnaise Sauce.—Beat the yolks of four eggs with four tablespoons of oil and four of water. Add a cup of boiling water and cook slowly until thick and smooth. Take from the fire, and add minced onion, capers, olives, pickles, and parsley and a little tarragon vinegar.

Cucumber sauce
Pare two large cucumbers; remove seeds, if large; chop fine and squeeze dry. Season with salt, vinegar, paprika and add one-half cup of cream.

Sauce hollandaise
Mix one tablespoon of butter and one of flour in a saucepan and add gradually half a pint of boiling water. Stir until it just reaches the boiling point; take from the fire and add the yolks of two eggs. Into another saucepan put a slice of onion, a bay leaf, and a clove of garlic; add four tablespoons of vinegar, and stand this over the fire until the vinegar is reduced one-half. Turn this into the sauce, stir for a moment; strain through a fine sieve; add half a teaspoon of salt and serve. This sauce may be varied by adding lemon juice instead of vinegar, or by using the water in which the fish was boiled. It is one of the daintiest of all sauces.

Mustard sauce
Mix two tablespoons of vinegar and one of mustard, one teaspoon of oil or butter melted, pepper and salt to taste. Add this to two hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, with a small onion and about the same quantity of parsley as eggs; and mix all well together.

Maître d'hôtel butter
Work into one-half cup of butter all the lemon juice it will take, and add a teaspoon of minced parsley.

Pickle sauce
Cream two tablespoons of butter, add one teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of chopped pickle. A speck of red pepper may be added.

Sardellen, or herring sauce
Brown a spoon of flour in heated fat, add a quantity of hot fish stock and a few sardellen chopped fine, which you have previously washed in cold water, also a finely-chopped onion. Let this boil a few minutes, add a little vinegar and sugar; strain this sauce through a wire sieve and add a few capers and a wineglass of white wine and let it boil up once again and thicken with the yolk of one egg.

Sauce vinaigrette
Rub the mixing bowl with a clove of garlic, add one-half teaspoon of salt, dash of white pepper, and a teaspoon of cold water or a bit of ice, then four tablespoons of oil. Mix until the salt is dissolved, remove the ice and add ten drops of tabasco sauce, two tablespoons tarragon vinegar, one tablespoon grated onion, one tablespoon chopped parsley and one chopped gherkin.

Anchovy sauce
Mix six tablespoons of melted butter and one and one-half teaspoons anchovy paste, place in double boiler and allow to boil for about six minutes. Flavor with lemon juice.

Sauce piquante
To one pint of drawn butter add one tablespoon each of vinegar and lemon juice and two tablespoons each of chopped capers, pickles, and olives, one-half teaspoon onion juice, a few grains cayenne pepper.

Sauce tartare
Add to a half pint of well-made mayonnaise dressing two olives, one gherkin and one small onion, chopped fine. Chop sufficient parsley to make a tablespoonful, crush it in a bowl and add it first to the mayonnaise. Stir in at least a tablespoon of drained capers and serve with fried or broiled fish.

White sauce (for vegetables)
Place two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan; stir until melted: add two tablespoons of flour mixed with one-fourth of a teaspoon of salt and a few grains of pepper. Stir until smooth. Add one cup of milk gradually and continue to stir until well mixed and thick. Chopped parsley may be added. Used for creamed vegetables—potatoes, celery, onion, peas, etc.

Cream mustard sauce
Make white sauce as directed above. Mix one tablespoon of mustard with a teaspoon of cold water and stir into the sauce about two minutes before serving. The quantity of mustard may be increased or diminished, as one may desire the flavor strong or mild.

Curry sauce
Use one teaspoon of curry in the flour while making white sauce.

Spanish sauce
Cook one onion and green pepper chopped fine in hot butter; add four tablespoons of flour, stir until smooth. Add two cups of strained tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Tomato sauce
Brown one tablespoon butter with one minced onion, then add one tablespoon of flour. When brown stir in two cups of tomatoes which have previously been cooked and strained, add also one teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of salt, pepper, and red pepper, also one tablespoon of vinegar and one tablespoon of tomato catsup.