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Nantua Sauce

Nantua Sauce - Great Chefs recipe image
Nantua sauce is a luxurious French classic made by simmering crayfish shells and heads to extract a deep, sweet seafood essence. This recipe enhances the base with mirepoix, mushrooms, and a splash of cognac for complexity. The resulting sauce is velvety smooth, rich with cream, and perfectly balanced with fresh herbs like parsley and tarragon. It is an elegant accompaniment to delicate white fish, lobster, or poached chicken.
Cuisine:
Courses:
Difficulty: Advanced
Servings: 4
Calories: 760.5
Description
Nantua sauce is a luxurious French classic made by simmering crayfish shells and heads to extract a deep, sweet seafood essence. This recipe enhances the base with mirepoix, mushrooms, and a splash of cognac for complexity. The resulting sauce is velvety smooth, rich with cream, and perfectly balanced with fresh herbs like parsley and tarragon. It is an elegant accompaniment to delicate white fish, lobster, or poached chicken.
Directions
  1. 1
    Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.
  2. 2
    Add live crayfish and sauté for 1 minute until they begin to turn red.
  3. 3
    Add the halved garlic bulb, mirepoix, crushed peppercorns, bay leaf, and chopped mushrooms.
  4. 4
    Cook for another minute, stirring to combine aromatics.
  5. 5
    Pour in the cognac and carefully flame the pan to burn off alcohol.
  6. 6
    Transfer the contents of the sauté pan into a saucepan.
  7. 7
    Add chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, parsley, and tarragon to the saucepan.
  8. 8
    Deglaze the original sauté pan with fish stock, scraping up any browned bits.
  9. 9
    Pour the deglazed stock into the saucepan with the crayfish mixture.
  10. 10
    Roughly mash the ingredients with a spoon to release juices from the shells.
  11. 11
    Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
  12. 12
    Strain the mixture through a chinois (fine mesh sieve) into a clean saucepan, pressing hard on the solids to extract all liquid.
  13. 13
    Reduce the strained liquid by two-thirds over medium heat.
  14. 14
    Stir in the heavy cream, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.
  15. 15
    Continue to reduce and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened.
  16. 16
    Strain again if a perfectly smooth texture is desired, then reserve.

Nutrition Facts

Servings 4 servings

Amount Per Serving
Calories 760.5kcal
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 21.1g33%
Saturated Fat 4.7g24%
Cholesterol 187.5mg63%
Sodium 218.8mg10%
Total Carbohydrate 30.6g11%
Dietary Fiber 8.2g33%
Sugars 2.1g
Protein 90.9g182%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Keywords: nantua, crayfish, sauce, lobster, seafood, cream, cognac, fish stock, mirepoix, mushrooms, garlic, herbs, parsley, tarragon, tomato puree, french cuisine, rich, classic
Read it online: https://www.chefs-mate.com/recipe/nantua-sauce-great-chefs/