B̩arnaise sauce

Serves:

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• ½ cup (125ml) white wine vinegar
• 2 eschallots, peeled and finely diced
• ¼ cup loosely packed tarragon, leaves and stems, finely chopped
• ¼ cup loosely packed chervil, leaves and stems, finely chopped
• 4 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 125g butter, at room temperature, cubed

Method

Crush the peppercorns in a mortar and pestle until they form a coarse powder. Place this, with the white wine vinegar, eschallots and herbs, into a small saucepan over a high heat. Bring mixture to the boil and let bubble (uncovered) for 5 minutes or until reduced by half. 

Strain this liquid into a bowl, extracting as much moisture as possible. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water), add egg yolks and whisk for a couple of minutes or until mixture starts to thicken. 

Add the butter, one cube at a time, whisking constantly. Don’t add another cube until the previous one is incorporated into the sauce. Once all of the butter has been added, remove bowl from heat and season to taste. Keep sauce warm and covered.

Notes:

• Béarnaise sauce is am emulsified sauce. It is really important that you follow the direction for the ingredients to be at room temperature as it can really make a difference to the success of the sauce.
• If you aren’t going to serve your sauce immediately, you can lay cling film over the surface of this sauce so it doesn’t develop a 'skin' on top.
• This recipe was created by Sophie Hansen for Kidspot, New Zeaalnd’s best recipe finder.  You can follow Sophie on Local is Lovely, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

Serving Suggestions

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