The French Mother Sauces

Recipe: Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat. To cool this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper or pour a film of milk over it to prevent a skin from forming.

Three derivatives of Bechamel sauce

Aurora sauce

Mornay sauce

Nantua sauce

Recipe: Cook carrot and onion in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Add flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until medium brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Add hot stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then add tomato purée, garlic, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf and bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat and cook at a bare simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 3 cups, about 45 minutes.
Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding solids.
*Available at some specialty foods shops and cooking.com (stock requires a dilution ratio of 1:16; 1/4 cup concentrate to 4 cups water).

Three derivatives of Espagnole sauce

Africaine sauce

Bigarade sauce

Bourguignonne sauce

Recipe: WHISK egg yolks, water and lemon juice in small saucepan until blended. COOK over very low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles at the edges.
STIR in butter, 1 piece at a time, until butter is melted and sauce is thickened. REMOVE from heat immediately.
STIR in salt, paprika and pepper. SERVE immediately

Three derivatives of Hollandaise sauce

Aurora sauce

Mornay sauce

Nantua sauce

Recipe: Preheat oven to 300°. Holding a bread knife so it’s parallel with work surface, slice ciabatta in half lengthwise (like opening a book). Slice each piece in half lengthwise down the center, then cut each strip on a diagonal into 4 pieces (you should have 16 pieces total).
Drizzle 3 Tbsp. oil over bread and rub each piece to evenly distribute oil. Place bread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly browned and dried out, 30–40 minutes. Rub warm toast with cut sides of garlic; set aside.
Meanwhile, slice a thin round off the bottom of each tomato. Starting at cut end, grate tomatoes on the largest holes of a grater into a medium bowl until all that’s left are the flattened tomato skins. Finely chop skins and mix into grated flesh; season very generously with salt.
Spoon a generous amount of tomato sauce over each toast (you may have some left over). Let sit at least a minute or two so bread can absorb some of the juices. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with more salt, and top as desired.

Three derivatives of Tomate sauce

Portugaise Sauce

Provençal Sauce

Marinara Sauce

Recipe: To start the velouté, first melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk until fully incorporated. Cook the roux until it turns a blond color.
Slowly add the stock, a bit at a time. Whisk and let it come back to a gentle boil each time before adding more stock. Add the stock until you reach a silky-smooth consistency.
Once done, season with salt and white pepper to taste. The sauce may thicken slightly as it cools, so if you’re not planning to use it right away, you may need to loosen it up with a bit more hot stock before using.
Velouté sauce can be used in many dishes, from soups to sauces. It goes particularly well with poultry and seafood dishes.

Three derivatives of Veloute sauce

Albufera sauce

Allemande sauce

Aurore sauce

Three Types of Roux

White

Blond

Brown