Try one of the other five French Mother Sauces
Non roux version
The vegetarian, non roux version of Espagnole ingredient list is
- 1 large Portobello mushroom (6 oz) – chopped small
- 1 large carrot – unpeeled – chopped small
- 1 large onion – coarsely chopped
- 1 small egg plant (8 oz) – peeled and chopped small
- 1 small leek – coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic – smashed
- 3 TBL vegetable oil
- 2 TBL flour
- 2 TBL tomato paste
- 4 oz red wine
- Bouquet Garni (1 celery, 2 thyme sprigs, 2 parsley stems, 1 bay leaf)
- 6 cups (48 oz) water
- Salt and pepper to taste
The process for making Vegetarian Espagnole is
- Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.
- Coat vegetables with oil: Put vegetables in a plastic bag, add oil, and shake. Spread on baking sheet and salt and pepper a little.
- Bake 1 hour: stirring frequently
- Sprinkle with four: Remove vegetables from oven and sprinkle with flour. Stir until coated.
- Stir in tomato paste: then bake 10 more minutes.
- Place vegetables in a large pot
- Clean Fond: Pour wine into empty pan and scrape up the fond (the stuff burnt onto the bottom of the pan. This is good stuff so don’t throw it away.
- Add wine to pot along with the bouquet garni and water. Bring to a boil.
- Simmer for one hour.
- Strain sauce in sieve pressing juice out of the vegetables. Discard vegetables and pour sauce back in pot.
- Boil sauce 10 mins on high heat to reduce by half. This will both thicken the sauce and concentrate the flavors. Do not cover, you want steam to evaporate.
- Add salt and pepper in stages, a little at a time while the sauce is boiling.
