Name: Crayfish Sauce
Yield: Makes About 900 ml/1½ pints
Ingredients: 1 tomato, roughly chopped; 25 g/1 oz tomato purée; About 450 ml/¾ pint double cream; 120 ml/4 fl oz brandy; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 115 g/4 oz mirepoix (celery, onion, carrot, leek); 300 ml/½ pint dry white wine; 1 bay leaf; 900 ml/1½ pints fish stock; 450 g/1 lb live crayfish; 25 g/1 oz shallots, chopped; 1 tbsp oil

Preparation info

Makes About
900 ml

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A Feast of Fish

By Ian McAndrew

Published 1989

About

Crayfish sauce, or sauce Nantua as it is sometimes known, is traditionally made with a creamy béchamel sauce to which crayfish butter has been added. As I use very little flour in the kitchen, my variation is slightly different. It is a sauce that will complement all types of fish and it is also very good with veal, chicken and lamb. To finish the sauce, an equal amount of cream is added and then the sauce is boiled until it thickens.