During a cold, dreary winter I spent in Dublin, I needed an escape. I was feeling rather uninspired at that time and I needed to gather up some creativity, so I made a split decision to take a cooking course in Paris. In addition to their extensive culinary programing, the famous Cordon Bleu Institute offers Gourmet Short Courses for mere peasants, such as myself. I enrolled in the two-day Art of Making Sauces and Jus class and IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I cannot recommend this course enough, if you can spare a few extra days in Paris. This course is taught by master French chefs who give you a taste for what it’s like working in a French restaurant kitchen, but presumably much friendlier for the short course crowd (responding with “Oui, Chef” is still highly encouraged!). I had the opportunity to dive into some complex, classical French sauces and jus, but there were also a few that were surprisingly easy to prepare. I’m going back to my recipes from this class and updating them in my own kitchen!
In the heat of late summer, I wanted to make something that wouldn’t heat up the entire kitchen and would pair nicely with a variety of dishes I planned to make that week. I introduce to you “rouille,” a Provençal staple, typically served with bouillabaisse. Laced with garlic and saffron, it is sometimes confused with aioli, which is more mayonnaise-like and can be a bit tricky to make properly. Many rouille recipes call for stale bread as a base, but this one from the Cordon Bleu uses potato, which is an excellent vehicle for that lovely saffron flavor and color.
You know when you look at a recipe you haven’t made in a while, and all of the sudden it makes no sense? That definitely happened here so I’ll take you through the adjustments I made. The original recipe also uses metric measurements, but I’ll give you the imperial quantities. I found the garlic flavor a bit lacking, so I added two more cloves to my recipe (recipe called for four cloves, but you do you!). For the texture I was looking for, I also ended up doubling the amount of olive oil (to almost a cup from the original 100ml). In another departure from the Cordon Bleu recipe, I added a little lemon juice at the end. You can make the whole dish in one saucepan, and since my recipe uses potato, rather than bread, we don’t need a mortar and pestle or a blender, meaning FEWER DISHES TO WASH!
There are endless ways to enjoy this sauce. When I was in Paris, I kept it in the fridge of the hostel I was staying at and kept creeping into the kitchen to sneak late night dips with a raw veggies or chunk of bread (which is all you really need to enjoy it!). Back at home, I served mine with a simple plate of seared baby eggplant, patty pan squash, fresh basil leaves and another recipe from my saucy learnings, melted tomato concassé. Rouille keeps really well in the fridge and that golden saffron color really develops overnight. The next day I plated up a fat dollop next to some poached shrimp. And the day after that I used it in place of mayonnaise on a BLT. Rouille is a great place to start for anyone wanting to dip into French sauce-making. It is super simple and is fantastic with everything summer!
Garlic and Saffron Rouille
Ingredients
- 1 cup of diced potato preferably Yukon Gold (about 2 medium potatoes)
- 4 garlic cloves
- A pinch of saffron threads 6-8, if you’re counting
- 1 ¼ cups of chicken broth vegetable stock, or water
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup of good quality extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- 1 tsp lemon juice optional
Instructions
- Add your diced potatoes (size does not matter since we will be mashing them later) to a small saucepan along with 4 out of the 6 garlic cloves, the saffron and a healthy pinch of salt. Add enough broth or water to cover. Don’t add it all at once, as we don’t want excess liquid. Bring this up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Keep an eye on the level of liquid and add as needed until the potatoes are fully cooked, about 10 minutes). Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Finely mince the 2 remaining cloves of garlic and add to the cooled potato mixture. In the same saucepan, use a whisk to mash the potatoes until very smooth.
- Lightly beat 2 egg yolks and slowly whisk into the garlicky potato mixture.
- In a steady stream, whisk in enough olive oil until you get a smooth, creamy texture. Add more or less olive oil depending on what consistency you’re looking for. I ended up using almost a full cup.
- Now taste your rouille and season with salt and pepper (preferably white pepper for aesthetics but black is fine).
- Add in a splash of lemon juice at the end, if you like!
[…] go totally deluxe and have a two sauce dish by pairing tomato jam pair it with my rouille recipe, another easy one I learned at Le Cordon Bleu. “Can I have two sauces on one plate?” […]