Fish Velouté is one of the many mother sauces of the French cuisine. Served over grilled or broiled salmon filet with a side of asparagus, this sauce balances out the fresh flavour of the fish with a thick and creamy sauce.
Prepared with only 3 ingredients, this sauce is easy to prepare and is versatile for many dishes. You can either serve it as is, or use it as a base for other sauces.
Health Benefits
The fish stock used in the recipe contains a concentrated resource of all the nutrients fish provides. The stock is loaded full of Omega-3 fats, DHA, iodine, calcium, phosphorus, silicon and other vitamins and minerals.
Ingredients
fish stock: 6 cups
clarified butter: 2 oz
all-purpose flour: 2 oz
How To Make Creamy Fish Velouté
- Add fish stock to a medium saucepan and heat it over medium heat, and bring it to a simmer.
- Lower the heat to the lowest flame so the stock remains hot.
- Meanwhile, in another heavy bottomed saucepan, heat clarified butter over medium-high heat until it becomes frothy. Remember to keep an eye on it and not let it brown as it will change the flavour.
- Start adding flour into the butter a little bit at a time, stirring the mixture constantly to avoid forming lumps, until all the flour is fully incorporated. The mixture should resemble a pale yellow paste, called a roux.
- Heat his roux for another minute to cook off the raw flavour of the flour.
- Add the warm fish stock into the roux in a gentle, steady stream, while vigorously whisking the sauce to make sure the sauce doesn’t coagulate into lumps.
- After all the stock is incorporated in the roux, let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes, or until it has reduced by about one third of the total volume.
- While the sauce is simmering, stir it frequently to make sure it doesn’t scorch the bottom of the pan.
- If any impurities rise to the top while the sauce is cooking, use a ladle to skim them off.
- The end result should be a thick and smooth sauce with a velvety sheen to it.
- If the sauce is too thick, whisk a bit more of warm fish stick into the sauce until it reaches the consistency where it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- If you require a smoother consistency then filter the velouté through cheesecloth.
- Keep the velouté covered until you are ready to use it.
Trivia
Velouté sauce is listed as one of the 5 main types of sauces used in Classical French cuisine by the chef-extraordinaire Auguste Escoffier in the 19th century. It’s named velouté after its texture, which means velvety in French.