Recipe: Tarragon Sauce

Name: Tarragon Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2.1 cups (500 ml) dry white wine; 4 sprigs of fresh tarragon or 1.75 oz (50 g) dried tarragon; a few fresh tarragon leaves; 0.8 cup (200 ml) veal stock; 0.5 oz (15 g) butter in small pieces; salt and crushed pepper (4 g of peppercorns crushed with the bottom of a saucepan)

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.6/5 (11 reviews) · 🍳 6 made it

Prep 15 min

Cook 15 min

Total 30 min

Servings 4 serv.

This tarragon sauce is truly excellent for enhancing your recipes based on meats, fish, eggs, fresh pasta, gnocchi, and even shellfish. And what can we say about it with scallops simply roasted or poached!

Tarragon originates from Persia, brought to France during the Crusades and quickly favored at Versailles. Its delicate, slightly licorice flavor demands respect: never cooked at high heat, always added at the last moment.

Ingredients for 4 servings

Adjust for

servings

2.1 cups (500 ml) dry white wine
4 sprigs of fresh tarragon or 1.75 oz (50 g) dried tarragon
a few fresh tarragon leaves
0.8 cup (200 ml) veal stock
0.5 oz (15 g) butter in small pieces
salt and crushed pepper (4 g of peppercorns crushed with the bottom of a saucepan)

Step-by-step directions

1 Bring the dry white wine to a boil with the crushed pepper and a pinch of salt, then add the fresh tarragon sprigs or dried tarragon. Remove from heat and let infuse for fifteen minutes covered.

2 Then reduce this preparation by half, and add the veal stock. Let it reduce a little more, then blend the sauce and pass it through a fine strainer, pressing well.

3 Off the heat, mount it with butter by adding small pieces of cold butter that you stir together so the sauce becomes glossy and well emulsified.

4At the last moment, add the fresh tarragon leaves that have been blanched and finely chopped, then adjust the seasoning.

A chef's advice

In Normandy, tarragon is sometimes paired with light crème fraîche and a splash of dry cider instead of white wine. Other regions skip the final beurre monté, preferring a lighter sauce. This version keeps the classic approach: butter-mounted, glossy, refined.