Behind the French Menu

Velouté Soupe and Sauce Velouté - A Veloute Soup and a Veloute Sauce. - A Velouté is One of France's "Mother" Sauces and one of the Many Styles of Soups and Sauces on French Menus.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Spring Pea Velouté

with ham, asparagus and morel mushrooms.

Photograph courtesy of Dale Cruse

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalecruse/14150291763/sizes/m/

The Velouté, a mother sauce.

Veloutés are velvety soups and sauces that developed from the work and writings one of the most famous of the early 19th-century chefs Antonin Carême. Among Antonin's many rules for French Cuisine were the four “mother sauces." From these sauces, all other sauces were to be developed. Antonin, with friends, created the format for French Haute Cuisine in the first part of the 19th century. His rules remained in place until Escoffier began publishing important changes in the early 20th century, some seventy years later. Antonin's four “mother sauces" were Sauce Bechamel, Sauce Allemagne, Sauce Espagnole and Sauce Velouté. When Escoffier began his changes, the Sauce Velouté remained untouched as did Sauce Béchamel and Sauce Espagnole. Nevertheless, Escoffier demoted Sauce Allemande and added Sauce Tomât and Sauce Hollandaise. In all Escoffier designated five sauces as "mother sauces". Escoffier's changes remain in place.

Escoffier

Photograph courtesy of Heidi Dietrich.

From Antonin’s four mother sauces Escoffier made five. I agree with Escoffier’s addition of Hollandaise as I really like Hollandaise and without Hollandaise, there would be no Sauce Béarnaise and that would be terrible! Escoffier also added Sauce Tomat, tomato sauce, and that, of course, for the 20th and 21st centuries is a no-brainer.

The origin of the word Velouté.

The word velouté comes from the language of d’Oc, Occitan. Occitan is the language that competed with modern French as the language that all Frenchmen and women would speak. Even in the late 19th century, some 20% of the population spoke very little French. Now all French children leave school with near-perfect French. However, Occitan and its dialects are still spoken or at least partly understood by some 12 million Frenchmen and women directly or through one of its dialects like Gascon, Languedocien, Provencal, and Niçoise among others. In Occitan the word velouté means velvety, and that should be how a velouté soup or sauce should feel on your tongue.

Butternut squash velouté

Photograph courtesy of Simon Law

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sfllaw/3315254490/

The Original Sauce Velouté

The original Sauce Velouté began with a “roux,” that is butter and flour that has been rolled and re-rolled together. Then a light fish stock or chicken stock would be added and apart from salt and pepper, that was the original velouté. To this "mother sauce", would be added vegetable or other flavorings along with egg yolks and butter and or cream as required. Modern recipes have made changes, but a soup or sauce with a velvety taste remains a velouté. For all the other names of soups on French menus click here. I saw that the Miriam Webster website gave the definition of a Sauce Velouté only for sauces made with chicken, veal or fish stock. That was true once upon a time; however, many Sauce Veloutés on today's menus will be made with vegetables alone.

Veloutés on a French menus:

Velouté d'Ail aux Escargots – A velvety, garlic accented, snail soup.

Spring Garlic Velouté with Escargot, Nettle and Potato Dariole

Photograph courtesy of Jay Tong`

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaytong/2563599768/

Velouté d’Épinards aux Moules – A smooth spinach soup prepared with mussels.

Velouté de Châtaigne, Espuma Poivrons Rouges et Paprika, Copeaux de Noix – A velvety chestnut soup prepared with a foam of sweet red peppers and paprika and served with walnut shavings.

Velouté de Choux Fleur au Lait de Coco et Épices Douces – A cauliflower velouté made with coconut milk and sweet spices.

Velouté de Cressonnette aux Crevettes – A velvety watercress soup prepared with shrimps.

Velouté de Girolles, Pistou de Persil Plat – A velvety Girolle Chanterelle mushroom soup prepared with a flat parsley pistou. Pistou is French for the Italian Pesto In the original Italian pesto and the French pistou sweet basil leaves are the main herb, here the star of this pistou is flat parsley.

Chanterelle Girolle - Cantharellus Cibarius

Photograph courtesy of Björn S...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/40948266@N04/28515104604/

Veloute de Panais et Topinambour – A parsnip and Jerusalem artichoke veloute.

Velouté de Potiron et Chataignes Avec Homard – A velvety pumpkin and chestnut soup served with pieces of the European two-clawed lobster.

Chataignes, Chestnuts.

Photograph courtesy of Rhian

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rhian/3993039576/

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

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Nice and 'La Côte d'Azur'. Dining well and differently in Nice.

Noix – The Walnut. France’s Beloved Nut

Persil - Parsley in French Cuisine.

Sauce Béchamel, Sauce Bechamel. One of the Five Mother sauces in French Cuisine.

Sauce Hollandaise. The Mother of All Sauces.

Soup on the French Menu. A Soup by Any Other Name, but France has So Many Names for Soup.

Tarragon, the herb; in French that is Estragon – Tarragon is an Important Herb in French Cuisine and is part of the herb group Les Fine Herbs and Sauce Béarnaise.

Turnips, (Navets) Parsnips (Panais) and Swedes (Chou-Navets or Rutabaga). Traditional Root Vegetables in Modern French Cuisine.

Feuille de Laurier – The Bay Leaf, the Laurel Leaf and the Bay Leaf in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Bay leaves with its flowers and berries.

Photograph courtesy of the Biodiversity Heritage Library

https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/6099380873/sizes/l

The Bay Leaf in the French Kitchen.

The bay leaf, also called the laurel leaf, is one of the most used spices in French cuisine. Bay leaves will be in recipes for soups, stews, sauces, as well as in roasted and baked dishes. In French cuisine, bay leaves are far more often in the recipe than they are listed on the menu. Bay leaves will, of course, be in pickling brine and different kinds of vinegar.

Pickled Brussels sprouts

Using vinegar, bay leaves, mustard seeds, coriander, cumin, celery salt and garlic.

Photograph courtesy of Iris.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irisphotos/14544641706/

The leaf from the bay/laurel tree is aromatic, and in France, it is an essential component of the classic bouquet garni which at its simplest is parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. The bittersweet, aromatic bay leaves impart their poignant flavor in a variety of dishes and that makes bay leaves an essential spice cupboard ingredient. Also on the upside bay leaves are one of the few herbs that do not lose their flavor when dried, and dried is how 95% of western cooks and chefs usually store a bay leaf.

A bouquet garni accompanied by onions and garlic

Photograph courtesy of CityMama --Stefania Pomponi Butler

https://www.flickr.com/photos/citymama/3977451041/

Nevertheless, fresh bay leaves with their lighter bouquet are becoming more widely available; and despite the differences in strength the uses for both are the same and the outcome is the same. All that is required is a gentle hand that balances the strength of the dried leaf in a recipe with the more mildly scented fresh leaf.

Pasta sauce with fresh bay leaves.

Photograph courtesy of Chad Miller

https://www.flickr.com/photos/chadmiller/79899352/

Bay leaves are essential in many French pâtés and in nearly all pickling marinades. Long cooking draws out the flavors and scents of this herb and most braised, poached and stewed dishes benefit from the addition of a bay leaf, as do soups, stocks, and risottos. French chefs will add a bay leaf when braising red or pickled cabbage, as well as to a poaching liquid for fish, or to infuse the milk for a custard or rice pudding.

Bay Leaves on French Menus:

Filet d'Alose Désarête et Grille à la Feuille de Laurier – A filet of Allis Shad, a tasty freshwater fish. On this menu listing, it is deboned and grilled over bay leaves. Allis is a tasty but bony fish, and here the French word “désarête” advises the diner that the restaurant will have removed the bones; hopefully every one of them.

In the picture it is Allis Shad to the fore

and Twaite Shad to the rear.

Photograph courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library

https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/8552039560/

Palombe Rôtie à la Feuille de Laurier – Woodpigeon, also called ramier in French, roasted over bay leaves. Woodpigeons will only be on the menu during the limited period when they may be hunted. Ordinary pigeons, also called the pigeon biset are raised for the table like poultry and will be on French menus throughout the year. BTW: Palombe was the name that Picasso gave to his daughter,

Saint Pierre de l’Atlantique Rôti aux Feuilles de Laurier Sous la Peau, Marinade d'Artichauts et Compote de Girolles – St Peter’s fish, John Dory in English, from the Atlantic, roasted in its skin with bay leaves. It is served with marinated artichokes and a dish, nearly a jam, made from wild Chanterelle-Girolle mushrooms.

Saint Pierre, John Dory.

Photograph courtesy of Paul Stainthorp

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pstainthorp/8182135874/

Poulette du Gers Rôtie, Pommes Grenailles Confites et Jus à la Feuille de Laurier – Roast Gers Chicken served with small new potatoes cooked until they are almost a jam. All is accompanied by the chicken’s natural cooking juices flavored with bay leaves. The poultry from Ger are Label Rouge, red label poultry; they are some of the most highly rated chickens and turkeys in France. Red label poultry will spend 95% of their lives as free range poultry and are raised free of antibiotics and growth hormones. Gers was part of the region of the Midi-Pyrenees which since 1-1-2016 has joined with Languedoc-Roussillon to become the new super region of Occitanie.

Grenailles may be translated in your French-English dictionary as pebbles, but on your menu, it will be indicating small new potatoes. These are small, early, mostly “ratte” new potatoes picked for the unique buttery and nutty taste as well as their texture. The leading suppliers of one or other of the potato varieties used for Grenailles potatoes include the island of Noirmoutier, just off the coast of the department of Vendee in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire. Other grenailles come from the island of Île de Ré in the department of Charente-Maritime a department that was part of Poitou-Charentes and since 1-1-2016 is part of the new super-region of Nouvelle Aquitaine. The largest supplies of grenailles come from the area around Le Touquet that was part of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and is now part of the new super region of Hauts-de-France

Pomme de terre “rattes."

Your French-English dictionary may translate ratte as a rat or a mouse. However, that was the descriptive name given when these potatoes first appeared in the markets. Worry not, large or small these are delicious potatoes and have no connection to mice or rats.

Pomme de terre rattes.

Photograph courtesy of Mon Œi

https://www.flickr.com/photos/claveirole/6192732989/

Daurade Grillée, Citron et Feuille de Laurier – Gilthead Sea- Bream grilled with lemon and bay leaves.

The Bay Leaf as a sign of power and knowledge.

In ancient Greece, a crown of laurel leaves was awarded to winners at the second of the ancient Olympic games; in the first games, the winners received a crown of olive leaves. The usage of the leaves in floral crowns changed often. Certainly, there were no medals at the ancient Olympic games. Later the Romans began to award laurel (bay leaf) crowns to their leaders. Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath as a symbol of his supremacy. Later emperors and kings were crowned with bejeweled golden crowns of laurel leaves. The Latin name for the Bay Leaf or Laurel Leaf is Laurus Nobilis, hence laurel leaves. Napoléon crowned himself emperor with a gold laurel leaf crown; see the picture below. Following on those traditions came a new tradition where winners and leaders were awarded the title of laureate though they were awarded no crown. Today, the French high school diploma is the baccalauréat. Nobel Prize winners are called Nobel Laureates. In the UK the mark of honor given to the country’s appointed poet is the title of poet laureate. In music, you will see orchestras that have composer laureates. The humble bay leaf in your kitchen has been raised up to the Laurel Leaf, and its award signifies a winner.

Emperor Napolean I with his laurel crown.

The bay leaf’s origins are Mediterranean, but it is now grown all over the world. The bay leaf is part of Asian cuisines from Vietnam to China and onto Japan and India. In India, the bay leaf is a critical ingredient in most curries. In the cuisine of the Caribbean including Cuba, bay leaves play an important role just as they do in the cuisines of Central and South America. The bay leaf, or if you prefer the laurel leaf is important in nearly every national kitchen.

There are a number of family members in the bay leaf family, but the one most used in cooking is the Laurus Nobilis. It is the same Laurus Nobilis that the goldsmith copies to create the gold bay leaves that can crown an emperor.

The Bay leaf in the language of its neighbors.

(Catalan - llorer or llor), (Dutch - laurir), (German – lorbeer), (Italian – alloro), (Spanish – laurel or lauro).

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