Sauce Béarnaise

Hollandaise sauce is called a mother sauce because it is used as the starting point for many other sauces, one of which is Sauce Béarnaise.

Sauce Béarnaise and steak is a match made in heaven.  It is also great on poached eggs and vegetables.

Ingredients

1 Shallot, chopped

1 bunch fresh tarragon

1 pinch  fresh ground back pepper

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

Strip the leaves from the tarragon and set aside.  Coarsely chop the stems.

Combine the shallot, tarragon stems, pepper, vinegar, and wine in a small saucepan over medium heat until it starts to simmer. Reduce the mixture until there is about 1 tablespoon of liquid remaining. Pour the mixture through a fine strainer into a small bowl and set the strained liquid aside.

Make Hollandaise Sauce but leave out the lemon juice, substituting the above mixture instead. Coarsely chop the tarragon leaves and add enough to the sauce to make it more visually appealing.