Café de Paris Sauce
This classic butter sauce for steak frites will take your steak or any lean meat or seafood to restaurant quality. It is easy to make; it just needs a number of herbs and spices. You can make this in summer when herbs are fresh. See notes on how to freeze for make-ahead version!
Servings: 1.5 cups
Calories: 74kcal
Ingredients
- 4 oz unsalted butter cubed
- 1 shallot minced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3 anchovies in oil, minced or 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon flaked sea salt
- 1 Tbsps capers
- 2 Tbsps chives finely chopped
- 2 Tbsps tarragon finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
- 2 Tsp fresh thyme leaves 1 teaspoon if using dried thyme
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Add butter, shallot, garlic, anchovy, curry powder, cayenne, mustard powder and salt in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat for about 6 minutes until the shallots soften and butter becomes golden colour.
- Add the capers and the herbs and grind of fresh pepper. Cook one minute more.
- Add the whipping cream and lemon juice and heat a couple of minutes until warmed through. Don't over mix. The sauce should not be uniform or emulsified. You should see some separation between the butter and the cream components.
- Serve with steak, roast beef or grilled vegetables.
Notes
1. If you want to make Café de Paris beurre, soften the butter instead of melting it. Beat the butter till creamy and light. Add all the other ingredients EXCEPT the whipping cream. Form herbed butter into a log. You can freeze wrapped air tight. You may want to form a few small logs so you only need to defrost an amount for one meal. Serve the Café de Paris beurre with steak, beef roasts, prime rib etc. It works with vegetables like asparagus or broccoli too.
2. If you don't have all the herbs or spices don't let that stop you from making it. The capers and curry give it a savoury depth of flavour so try to keep them but without them you will have a more herb-driven, lemon flavour.
Wine Pairing
A buttery Chardonnay from California or Mâconnais would work well here.
For a red wine, look for a robust Cabernet Sauvignon, GSM or Chianti.
Nutrition is per Tablespoon
Nutrition
Calories: 74kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 57mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 343IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg