This month, the Daring Cooks got a little saucy! Jenni from the Gingered Whisk taught us the basics of how to make the five mother-sauces and encouraged us to get creative with them, creating a wide variety of delicious, fresh sauces in our very own kitchens.
I was really thrilled by this challenge! I make some sauces very often (béchamel is one of them), but I had never tried to make Béarnaise before. The thing is, I love to eat it and whenever it’s on the menu, I order it with my steak. Besides, there was a particular recipe that I had been wanting to try for over a year! So I am very happy that I finally got the chance to make it and share it with all of you!
I made a Passion fruit Béarnaise Sauce… it’s like a classic Béarnaise – flavoured with a concentrated reduction of white wine vinegar, white wine, eschalots, tarragon, chervil and peppercorns – but with the addition of fresh passion fruit at the end. It is delicious: fruity and tangy, hearty and sophisticated, smooth and delicate all at the same time and with a touch of tropical on top of that! I had eaten it in Moorea during out holiday in French Polynesia last year and I was so happy to be able to recreate it! It goes amazingly well with steaks… give it a try for your next steak dinner and let me know what you think!
Passion fruit Béarnaise Sauce
Passion fruit Béarnaise Sauce - a classic French sauce with a tropical twist that goes incredibly well with steaks!
Ingredients
- 10 black peppercorns crushed
- 60 ml – ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 60 ml – ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 large eschalots peeled and finely chopped
- 3 tbsp fresh tarragon finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh chervil finely chopped
- 3 egg yolks at room temperature
- 125 gms – ½ cup butter at room temperature and cubed
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon extra
- 2 passion fruits
- Salt & ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
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Place the crushed peppercorns, vinegar, wine, eschalots, tarragon and chervil in a small pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until the liquid reduces by about half (you will need about 2 tablespoons).
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Strain the eschalot mixture through a fine sieve into a small bowl, pressing with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the eschalots, herbs and peppercorns.
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Place the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of the strained liquid in a heatproof bowl.
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Use a balloon whisk to whisk the egg yolk mixture until combined. Place the heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and cook the sauce in a double boiler. Whisk constantly for 5-7 minutes or until a ribbon trail forms and holds its shape for about 15 seconds when the whisk is lifted. The bowl should be warm, but not too hot to handle. If you think it is overheating, lift it out of the pan until it cools slightly, then return the bowl to the pan.
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Add the butter to the sauce a cube at a time, whisking constantly and adding each cube only when the one before melts and is thoroughly combined (this process should take up to 10 minutes). The sauce will lose some volume, but should still have a thick, aerated texture.
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When all the butter is added, remove the bowl from the pan and stir in the extra tarragon and the passion fruit pulp.
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Season with pepper and salt to taste. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Bearnaise sauce is usually served warm.
Seriously, this looks so amazing!! Awesome job! (I think I need to make this!)