Make Fall Beurre Blanc With Apples and Sage
The French rely heavily on butter and we let them do it because they do wonderful things with it. For example, Beurre blanc is a sauce made with shallot-infused wine and vinegar, a dollop of healthy cream and two whole sticks of butter. Sure, it tastes good—creamy, tangy, and rich—but you can give it some fall flavor by adding apples and sage to the shallots and substituting whiskey for the wine.
But before we get to the modifications, let’s talk about what makes beurre blanc so indulgent. Sure, there’s a lot of butter, but if you’ve ever melted butter in a frying pan, you’ve probably noticed that it doesn’t usually stay smooth and uniform. Butter is an emulsion, and melting breaks the emulsion. However, if you slowly melt the butter in another liquid (in this case cream, but water will work too ) you will force the tiny droplets of fat into a stable, suspended state, resulting in an entirely new emulsion that is creamy instead. fatty sauce.
How to make Beurre Blanc
Like all things French, beurre blanc is much more affordable than it seems. Simmer some diced shallots in a mixture of vinegar and dry white wine until the liquid has evaporated almost to dryness. Add a little cream, simmer briefly and gradually add pieces of butter into the cream mixture until it melts and emulsifies. It’s great, honestly.
How to modify beurre blanc
The easiest way to change up this classic French sauce is to complement (or replace) the shallots with other delicious and aromatic ingredients or substitute wine and/or vinegar. You can also use less oil—one stick instead of two—but you must try it with the full amount. A person only lives once and that’s it.
I made beurre blanc with a fall flavor by simmering shallots, apple, and sage in a mixture of rye whiskey and apple cider vinegar (rather than the usual dry white wine and white wine vinegar). It was a little fruitier, more tart and earthy, but still creamy, decadent and surprisingly sophisticated. If these flavors don’t suit you, you can substitute other allions (such as garlic and onions), herbs and fruits, or add ginger, mustard or hot chili.
Autumn Beurre Blanc
Ingredients:
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 1/2 apple, diced
- 6 sage leaves, cut into ribbons ( chiffoned )
- 1/2 glass of whiskey of your choice
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup cream
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (do not use if using salted butter)
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 sticks cold butter, cut into 16 pieces
Add shallots, apple, sage, whiskey and vinegar to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the liquid has almost completely evaporated; The shallots and apples should look moist, but only a couple tablespoons of liquid will come out when you tilt the pan.
Add salt and pepper to the cream, then add the cream to the shallot mixture and let simmer for one minute. Reduce heat to low (or off completely if using an electric burner) and add two or three sticks of butter, whisking continuously. Once the butter is almost completely melted, add a few more pieces, stirring constantly until all the butter is absorbed. Serve immediately with roasted vegetables, chicken, pork or fish, or hot pasta (and some starchy pasta water).