sauce robert c.

When my grocer no longer stocked Escoffier brand Sauce Robert, I sought about to make my own. I was surprised to learn that the Escoffier brand sauce did not seem to be anything like the classic Sauce Robert recipes that I found.

The recipe that follows amalgamates several of the “classic” recipes, of which I found several, and it also has my own special touch of ingredients and proportions. For that reason, I added my initial.

For while this was perhaps a signature sauce for Escoffier, it was my initial (get it?) attempt at making it to my own taste. It was so good that I will not try to improve it. Even the white Zinfandel seems to fit,^* albeit I was trying to use it up in cooking after a neighbor had brought it to drink at a pot-luck dinner the previous week end.

• ½ large red onion, diced
• ½ cup carrot, finely diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ tbsp <brown sugar>
• 1 (10½-oz) can condensed beef or 10½ oz homemade† consommé
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 1 tsp yeast extract (e.g. Marmite® or Vegemite®)
• 1 cup white Zinfandel wine
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 1½ tsp dry powdered mustard
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 oz tomato paste
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp <salt>
• pinch ground cayenne chile
• 1 tsp gravy browning sauce
• ¼ tsp powdered thyme
• 2 oz Madeira wine

Sauté the onions and carrots until golden. Add all ingredients except the gravy browning sauce, thyme and Madeira wine and simmer until the mixture is reduced by half. Purée the residue using a hand blender until smooth. Then add the gravy browning sauce, thyme, and Madeira and heat until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.

Makes about 12 oz of sauce.