The Loire sauce for fish: a sharp reduction of wine, vinegar and shallot mounted with cold butter into a pale, glossy emulsion.
Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is part of the collection’s French batch and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) white wine vinegar, plus more if needed
- 1 medium shallot (2 ounces; 57 g), finely minced
- 1½ sticks (170 g) cold unsalted butter, in ½-inch pats
- Kosher or sea salt, as needed to season
- Black or white pepper (optional)
Directions
Key ingredients
- Simmer the wine, vinegar and shallot over medium heat, swirling, until only 1–2 tablespoons of liquid remain.
- Whisk in a few pats of butter at a time, constantly, until they just melt into a milky emulsion; keep adding 2–3 pats at a time until all the butter is in. Pull the pan off the heat or lower it whenever it risks getting too hot. Season.
- If it is tepid at the end, rewarm it gently while whisking — overheating breaks it. Serve at once on warm plates.
Notes
Source Adapted from Daniel Gritzer, “Beurre Blanc,” Serious Eats.
Where it comes from It is also called beurre nantais, after Nantes; the source says it originally comes from Brittany (Nantes is historically Breton, though it lies today in the Pays de la Loire). The collection’s Roasted King Salmon with Beurre Blanc uses a version of it.
The photo The photograph shows asparagus in beurre blanc.