This classic butter sauce, garnished with tomato concassé and chives, is a beautiful accompaniment to any delicate white fish or steamed vegetables.
Chef's notes
This sauce pairs well with white fish, seafood and chicken.
Steps
1
Preparing the Mise en Place
Ingredients
1 large tomato
1 tbsp shallots
1 tbsp chives
8 tbsp unsalted, cold butter
1 lemon
1/4 cup white wine
To prepare the tomato concassé, first blanch the tomato to remove the skin. Cut the tomato into 4 quarters and remove the pulp and seeds. Gently flatten the tomato and carefully with your knife, trim the pulpy edge so it is one even piece. Next, dice the tomato into even-sized cubes. Set the concassé aside.
Finely mince the shallots and finely slice the chives. Cut the cold butter into tablespoon-size pieces. Slice the lemon in half, gather the white wine and set aside.
2
Making the Beurre Blanc
Ingredients
sea salt, to taste
white pepper, to taste
To prepare the beurre blanc, place a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and the wine. Bring to a simmer and reduce the liquid by about two-thirds until it reaches a syrupy consistency.
Turn the heat to the lowest setting and whisk in the cold butter one piece at a time to slowly form the emulsion.
Once all of the butter has been incorporated, season with salt and pepper. You may want to add a few drops of lemon juice to brighten the flavor of the sauce.
Monitor the sauce closely if you have other tasks to do before serving. Keep the sauce warm to the touch and whisk often to prevent it from splitting. You may need to turn the heat off and on to keep it at the correct temperature. The heat does not always need to be on, as the residual heat from the pan will keep it warm.
3
Adding the Garnish
Just before serving, gently stir the tomato concassé and chives into the sauce. Pour over fish, chicken or seafood and enjoy.
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Beurre blanc is not typically served as a sauce to coat pasta. When tossed with hot pasta, the sauce will likely split and lose its airy texture. You can certainly give it a try but I think it is better served over a nice piece of fish or vegetables, etc. as shown in the lesson. Cheers!
Hi Sami, If you were to substitute white wine vinegar for the white wine, I would dilute it with water 1:1. Vinegar has a higher acidity that could throw the balance of this sauce off if used as a strait substitution. Another option, if you can get it where you live, would be verjus. It is an unfermented grape juice from wine-varietal grapes. I hope this helps. Cheers, Sandy
Kimberley S • Rouxbe Staff •It's just a fancy French word for a tomato that has been peeled, seeded and diced :-) This is a delicious dish, so enjoy!
Amanda G •Can't wait to try this. I was drooling while watching the tutorial on making a basic beurre blanc. I think maybe it would also be good with pasta?
Lauren L •Hi Carolyn. About 4 as noted at the top. Thanks for asking, I hope that you try it out. Lauren
Sandy S •Hi Sami, If you were to substitute white wine vinegar for the white wine, I would dilute it with water 1:1. Vinegar has a higher acidity that could throw the balance of this sauce off if used as a strait substitution. Another option, if you can get it where you live, would be verjus. It is an unfermented grape juice from wine-varietal grapes. I hope this helps. Cheers, Sandy