Best Sauce Nantua Recipes

SAUCE NANTUA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small skillet, and add the shrimp in their shells. Cook, shaking the skillet and stirring, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with Cognac, and remove from the heat.
• Heat another tablespoon of butter in another skillet, and add the shallots, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf and thyme.
• Add the wine, broth, parsley sprigs, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, cayenne, salt, pepper and veloute. Let simmer about 30 minutes. Add the cooked shrimp in their shells and liquid.
• Pour the mixture into the container of a food processor or electric blender and process until shrimp are coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess.
• Pour the mixture into a food mill or colander and crush to extract as much liquid as possible from the shells and solids. There should be about 1 1/2 cups. Discard the solids.
• Return the mixture to a souce-pan and add the cream. Cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Swirl in the remaining tablespoon of butter.

CREPES MARYLAND WITH SAUCE NANTUA

Steps:

• Prepare the crepes according to any standard recipe. Set aside.
• If the crab meat is canned, it may be wet. Wrap it in cheesecloth, and squeeze gently to extract excess liquid. Do not break up the lumps.
• Heat the fish veloute, and stir in the cream, tarragon and cayenne. Gently fold in the crab meat.
• Lay out crepes on a flat surface, and add a twelfth of the crab mixture to each. Fold the crepes over to enclose the filling.
• Spoon an equal amount of the hot sauce onto each of four plates, leaving about 1/2 cup of sauce. Put three crepes on each plate, and spoon a little of the remaining sauce over each crepe and serve.

BUTTER-POACHED TRIPLETAIL WITH BRAISED LEEKS, BLACKENED BUTTERNUT SQUASH, AND SAUCE NANTUA

Steps:

• In a large saute pan, heat 1/4C water and juice of 1 lemon over medium heat. Add leeks in an even layer; cook until softened. Add 2T butter; cook until butter is melted and enough water evaporates to form an emulsion. Season to taste with salt.
• In a large bowl, prepare an ice bath. In a large pot, add 2-3 quarts water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add squash and blanch for 3 minutes in boiling water. Transfer squash to the ice bath to stop cooking; drain when cool and pat dry.
• Season squash with salt to taste and blackening seasoning. Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add squash; sear until caramelized, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool. Cut into bite-sized cubes.
• Season fillets with salt. In a wide saute pan, bring remaining 1C water and remaining juice of 1 lemon to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, and place fillets in pan. Steam, uncovered, until fish is about halfway cooked, and liquid is reduced to about 1/2C, about 4 - 6 minutes. Swirl in remaining 1C butter, 2T at a time, adding more liquid if needed to maintain emulsion. Baste fish with butter repeatedly until fish is fully cooked, about 4 minutes. Add chives, and season butter with salt. Spoon Sauce Nantua into a wide bowl. Reheat leeks and squash. Spoon vegetables into center of bowl. Place fish over vegetables, and baste with a little lemon chive butter from pan. Garnish with green onion, celery leaves, and shaved fennel, if desired.
• SAUCE: In a medium saucepan, heat a thin layer of oil over high heat. Add shrimp heads; saute until evenly pink. Add celery, carrot, and onion; cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, and stir to evenly distribute. Stir in wine, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Add garlic; cook until wine is reduced by half. Add cream, and bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool slightly. Puree mixture using an immersion blender or in batches in the container of a blender. Strain through fine-mesh sieve. Season to taste and add lemon juice.

FISH MOUSSELINE WITH SAUCE NANTUA

Steps:

• For the sauce: Heat the butter over low heat. Saute the carrots and onions for 2 minutes. Chop the shrimp, add them, turn up the heat and fry until they turn bright red, about 3 minutes. Flame with the Cognac. Add the wine and reduce by half. Add the stock, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the tomato paste, cayenne, paprika, bay leaf and thyme and cook for 30 minutes. Stir in the cream and let bubble a further 10 minutes. Pull out the bay leaf and thyme and blitz the mixture in the food processor. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Bring the sauce back to a boil in a saucepan, reducing to sauce consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the fish: Put the fish, cream and egg in a food processor and whiz just a few seconds to form a paste. Stir in the parsley, salt and pepper and chill for 30 minutes.
• Before serving, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Butter 6 ramekins (or a terrine) and put a round of parchment in the bottom of each. Fill the ramekins with the fish mixture. Set them in a baking dish and pour boiling water around to come halfway up the sides. Bake until just set, about 20 minutes.
• Unmold onto warm serving plates. Spoon the sauce over the top, and serve hot.

QUENELLES OF SALMON IN NANTUA SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the pancakes: Peel the potatoes and cut into fine julienne on a mandoline or V-slicer. Season the potato julienne with salt and pepper. Stir the eggs to break them up, then add the eggs and flour to the potato. Toss to combine. Heat the olive oil in a medium non-stick saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Make three circles of the potato mixture and cook until they have firmed into cakes and the bottoms are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side until golden. Remove and set aside. Repeat to make 12 cakes. To make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat and saute the pepper, onion, and garlic until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the crawfish tails, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Cook 1 minute. Take the pan off the fire and add the brandy. Avert your face, return the pan to the fire, and flame the brandy, shaking the pan until the flames die down. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the tomato and cream. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly. Set aside; keep warm. To make the quenelles: Clean the skin from the fillet and remove any bones. Cut the meat into 1-inch chunks. Blend in a food processor until the fish forms a ball; scrape down the bowl. Add the egg whites, one at a time, with the machine running. Stop the machine and scrape down the bowl again. With the machine running, add 1/3 cup of cream. Check the consistency; it should be soft, but firm enough to hold its shape. If necessary, add more cream, a little at a time, until it reaches this consistency. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then take off the heat. Wet a large spoon in the water. Scoop a large quenelle of salmon puree, then slip it into the water, using the side of the pan to form it as necessary. Repeat to make 12 quenelles. Put the pan back on the medium heat and cook 5 to 6 minutes; do not let the water boil (remove the pan from the heat and lower the heat, then return the pan if necessary). Remove the quenelles with a slotted spoon. To serve: Place 3 potato cakes equidistantly on each warmed serving plate, leaving space in the center. Place 3 salmon quenelles in the center of each in a radial pattern. Spoon Sauce Nantua between the quenelles. Sprinkle the plates with chopped parsley.