One of the five mother sauces.

Sauce Espagnole (Spanish Sauce) is one of the 5 French mother sauces that exist, and has been around for centuries. Knowing how to make the Sauce Espagnole is a must when you are learning French cooking. The sauce is sometimes called brown sauce and has strong beef and tomato flavours with a hint of bacon in the background..

INGREDIENTS

• 75 cl brown or veal stock

• 25 g (0.8 oz) smoked pork belly

• 25 g (0.8 oz) carrot (cut in rough cubes)

• 25 g (0.8 oz) onions

• 30 g (1 oz) mushrooms

• 150 g (5.3 oz) fresh tomatoes or 100 g (3.5 oz) tomatoes in a can

• 20 g (0.7 oz) tomato paste

• 1 garlic clove

• 1 bouquet garni (made with a twig of thyme, 4 parsley stalks and a few celery leaves)

• 20 g (0.7 oz) butter to cook the bacon

• 1 tbsp of flour

• Salt and pepper to season

• 60 g (2.1 oz) beurre manie (30 grams butter mixed with 30 grams of flour) to thicken the stock

NOTES

• You can keep the sauce in the fridge for 24 hours or freeze it for further use. This is a great sauce to use to enhance any dishes.

PROCEDURE

1. Cube the pork belly and cut the onions and the mushrooms into smallish pieces.

2. Bring the stock to a simmer and skim off any scum.

3. Meanwhile, place the butter and bacon pieces into a pan and melt the butter. Add the carrot and onion and cook on medium heat until they colour slightly.

4. Stir in the flour on low heat and leave it to cook until the roux takes on a brownish colour.

5. Add the tomato paste, stir in and cook for a few minutes to remove the acidity. Leave to cool totally.

6. Sieve the simmering stock into the pan, whisk in, put the heat on high, and bring to a boil.

7. If using fresh tomatoes, peel and chop them and add to the pork together with the bouquet garni, mushrooms and the garlic clove (having first halved it and removed the germ). Whisk everything in.

8. Simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours with the lid partially on.

9. Pass the mix through a sieve into another pan, add a nudge of butter, melt it in and season to taste.