Michel Roux Jr’s beurre blanc

Portion size: Makes 300ml
Hands-on time 20 minutes
Difficulty: easy

Recipe by: Michel Roux Jr

Make the best beurre blanc with this recipe from culinary legend Michel Roux Jr, who oversees the food at five-star hotel The Langham, London and headed up much-garlanded restaurant Le Gavroche for over 30 years. Here he shares the perfect sauce and gives tips on how to get the perfect flavour.

“A classic to serve with seafood and fish. At Le Gavroche, we often serve beurre blanc with simply cooked turbot and chives. Although it’s not a cream-based sauce, a little cream helps the butter emulsify.”

Want to learn more from Michel Roux Jr? The chef also oversees cookery school Sauce by The Langham in London, where he hosts exclusive masterclasses.

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Ingredients

100ml dry white wine (see Tips)
1 tsp white wine vinegar
2 shallots, finely chopped
50ml double cream
200g cold unsalted butter, cubed

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Method

Put the wine, vinegar and shallots in a heavy-based saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Add the cream and boil for 1 minute, then lower the heat and gradually whisk in the cubes of cold butter. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

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Quick wins & tips

And here’s how to use it…

Pan-fried sea trout with beurre blanc
8 young carrots, halved lengthways
Vegetable oil to drizzle
4 sea trout fillets (about 175g each)
Small knob of butter
150g fresh or frozen peas
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
1 quantity beurre blanc, as above, warm

Cook the carrots in salted, boiling water until just tender, then drain and set aside. Put a pan over a medium-high heat with a drizzle of oil. Season the skin of the sea trout, place skin-side down int he pan and fry for 3-4 minutes. Season the flesh of the sea trout, then turn over and fry for 1-2 minutes, adding the butter to the pan. Once it’s melted, spoon the butter over the fish. Set aside to rest on a warmed plate for a couple of minutes.
Cook the peas in salted boiling water, adding the carrots for 1-2 minutes to reheat, then drain. Divide among 4 warm plates or bowls. Stir almost all the chives into the beurre blanc, then divide it among the plates of bowls. Sit a piece of fish on each plate or bowl, spoon over any juices and scatter with chives to serve.