This is a riff on a very famous sauce from the Troisgros restaurant in Roanne, France. It was one of the dishes that launched Nouvelle Cuisine. This version is simplified, and lightened a little from the original. Use it on fish (salmon was the original fish used), shellfish (scallops, lobster, shrimp), or on poached or slow roasted chicken breasts. Sorrel has a refreshing lemony tart/sour quality that is great with richer things like salmon and cream.
INGREDIENTS:
1 medium bunch sorrel (around 4-ounces by weight), stems removed gently with a knife (pulling the stems as for kale will bruise the sorrel and discolor it, helping the sauce to turn khaki and taste like hay
2 medium shallots, minced
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) dry white wine, preferably un-oaked sauvignon blanc
3 tablespoons (1½ ounces) white Noilly Prat (or other high quality) white vermouth*
1 quart vegetable stock, fish stock if you’ve got it
1 3-inch x 3-inch square dashi-kombu, wiped with a damp paper towel and the edges pinked with kitchen scissors**
1½ cups crème fraiche if you have it, or use heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pea-sized bits and kept cold
Salt and pepper (white pepper preferred for color as well as flavor, but not a deal breaker) ***
Juice of half a lemon, as needed
METHOD:
Tear the sorrel into smallish, bite-sized pieces, or use a really sharp knife to slice into ¼-inch wide strips on the diagonal. If the knife isn’t sharp, just tear it up. This helps the sorrel to not bruise.
Heat a good-sized heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, adding the shallots, wine, vermouth, dashi-kombu, and stock to the pot all at once. Bring to a boil and adjust heat so it comes to a gently simmer. Cook down until the liquid is getting thick, almost syrupy.
Pull the pan from the heat and remove the dashi-kombu, discarding or saving for another use.
Return the pan to the heat and add the crème fraiche or heavy cream. If using the former, cook just longer enough until it is thickened to just coat the back of a spoon. If using cream, this will take a bit longer, but simmer until the cream will lightly coat the back of a spoon.
Scatter the sorrel over the sauce and wilt the sorrel for 25 seconds. Pull the pan from the heat and add the butter, swirling the pan to melt and incorporate the butter into an emulsion. If you think you need to stir the sauce, use a wooden spoon, not a whisk, which will catch the sorrel. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a few drops of lemon juice and taste. The lemon juice should add a spark to the sauce. Add more if you think it needs it.
Use the sauce right away as it suffers if allowed to sit. If you need to, you can make the sauce up to the point where you remove the dashi-kombu. Then you can finish it quickly at the last minute.
Chef’s Notes: *The vermouth adds depth and some sweetness to the sauce. Cheap vermouth can be harsh or bitter, and the herbs and spices in them just are not very pleasant when reduced. I opted for Noilly Prat because it is a French product in a French dish, but any good quality white vermouth will work. **Dashi-kombu is a seaweed found in Japanese markets and health food stores. Kombu adds an oceanic quality missing if you do not have fish fumet. It also helps to add viscosity to the sauce. ***White pepper will blend into the sauce better, and has a slightly higher pitched flavor/aroma than black pepper, so it is called for here.
Yield: Enough for 4 or more
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen (Et la Freres Troigros Jean et Pierre)
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