Sauce Vin Blanc (Fish Velouté, White Wine, Cream, Lemon)

This 2nd generation mother sauce derives from Sauce Velouté de Poisson. It is made by adding a wine reduction to a finished fish Velouté. The white wine sauce is an ideal accompaniment for all kinds of fish and seafood dishes. It is also the foundation from which a number of other classical sauces are built, such as the herb sauce, the shrimp sauce, or the Venetian sauce.

2 cups Velouté de Poisson (500 L)
1 cup dry white wine
¼ cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. butter
sea salt
white pepper, freshly ground
lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Make the fish velouté sauce, cover and simmer on very low heat, whisking occasionally until ready for the next step.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, gently heat the heavy cream to just below a simmer, but don't let it boil. Cover and keep warm.

In a separate saucepan, simmer the wine until it has reduced by half.

Slowly add the fish velouté to the wine, bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes, or until desired consistency is reached.

Stir the warm cream into the velouté and bring it back to a simmer for just a moment, cook on a very low simmer for 5 minutes,

To Finish:
Remove from the heat and swirl in the finishing butter until melted. Season with salt, white pepper, and lemon juice. Serve right away.

Makes 2½ cups.

Cook's Notes:  When cooking with wine, particularly when making a sauce, you want to keep in mind that when the alcohol is cooked off you are left with the sweetness and the acidity. So you want to choose a nice, dry white wine for making this sauce. Of course, a French varietal would be quite appropriate, but if you are choosing from what you have in your wine collection, selecting a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc is best. A chardonnay will also work as long as it is not too buttery and oaky.