Upgrade Your Veggies With Julia Child's Beurre Blanc Sauce
If you're looking for a simple way to add some flavor to your next vegetable dish, look no further than Julia Child's beurre blanc sauce. Beurre blanc is French for "white butter," and beurre blanc is a white butter sauce. This creamy sauce brings together white wine, vinegar, shallot, and of course, butter, into one decadent concoction that pairs perfectly with various vegetable dishes. The secret as to why Child's beurre blanc is so decadent and delicious is the addition of lemon juice and the large amount of butter she uses: Three sticks to be exact.
Roasted or blanched vegetables make a great base for a beurre blanc sauce. The fresh taste from the vegetables works to cut through the richness of the sauce, and the lemon flavor from Child's beurre blanc brings out the natural flavors of the vegetables. You can pair a variety of vegetables with a beurre blanc, but ones that have a more fresh taste and crisp texture will hold up best. Think of things like green beans, carrots, asparagus, and onions. Another good pairing for beurre blanc is fried artichoke hearts; the acidic lemon with the delicately crisp artichoke makes for an enjoyable pairing.
Working with beurre blanc sauce
Beurre blanc doesn't feature any heavy cream in traditional recipes, so the butter is what accounts for the creamy texture of the sauce. The wine, vinegar, and butter emulsify together to create the sauce. Since it is so decadent, beurre blanc is usually enjoyed drizzled over dishes as opposed to being heavily used. For a silky, smooth texture, run your sauce through a fine mesh strainer before serving to remove any burnt bits and excess shallot. Some modern versions of beurre blanc up the flavor by adding ingredients such as mustard seeds or chili, but for Child's version, you'll stick with the classic recipe and add a splash of lemon. If you do incorporate new flavors into the sauce, just be careful not to heat it for too long or you risk breaking your beurre blanc.
In addition to vegetables, seafood is another popular option to pair with beurre blanc. Lemon and seafood are a natural pairing, as are white wine and seafood, so beurre blanc makes a lot of sense. You can add beurre blanc to salmon or cod for some extra flavor, or drizzle over scallops to highlight their natural sweetness. Once you've mastered the classic beurre blanc sauce, you can begin to experiment with add-ins for even more flavor in your dishes.