By Ed Avis
Classically trained chefs know that five “mother” sauces are the basis for many recipes. Chefs preparing Mexican cuisine don’t regularly use those classic mother sauces, but some create variations of them.
For example, Chef Bret Thompson, owner of Pez Cantina in Los Angeles, creates his
Bechamel Sauce
Bechamel Sauce
own versions of four of the sauces – béchamel, hollandaise, espagnole, and tomate -- as the basis for many of his masterful dishes.
“We use them a lot because that’s how I was trained,” Thompson says. “And it’s fun to play with them.”
Thompson says the classic mother sauce he most often uses is béchamel (see the table for basic ingredients of the mother sauces). That sauce makes it to Pez Cantina’s menu as the basis of queso fundido and corn chowder.
What makes Thompson’s mother sauces special are the ingredients that go in on top of the basics. For example, Thompson adds chipotle, cinnamon or blood orange to bearnaise sauce (which is derived from hollandaise sauce) for a topping on some brunch items. But he stresses that he adds the Mexican flavors early in the process.
“It’s not like when we make chipotle bearnaise we’re just throwing in a few chipotles at the end,” he says. “We add the chipotle or other seasonings to the egg yolks at the beginning, so we’re starting at the heart of the recipe, rather than just trying to ‘Mexicanize’ it by adding a little fluff at the end.”
The bottom line is that while mother sauces are typically considered part of French cooking, these concoctions can add complexity and depth to many Mexican dishes.
“I love being able to use my formal European training and experience in the Mexican kitchen,” Thompson says. “And this is a great example of that.”
Mexican Variations on the Five Mother Sauces
Sauce: Béchamel
Classic Preparation: Hot milk thickened with butter and flour, flavored with onion, cloves and nutmeg.
Mexican Twist: When Chef Thompson makes corn chowder, he adds clam juice to the thickened milk mixture, then chile moritas and cinnamon, in addition to the clams, corn and bacon.
Sauce: Espagnole (also called demiglace)
Classic Preparation: Starts with a broth made with roasted bones and includes a tomato puree and mirepoix (carrots, celery and onions).
Mexican Twist: Mexican chefs add roasted, peeled chiles or red chile powder to create a sauce suitable for enchiladas.
Sauce: Veloute
Classic Preparation: A mixture of blond roux (butter and flour) and white stock (such as from veal, chicken or fish).
Mexican Twist: Veloute can be used as creamy base for soup; Mexican ingredients such as pureed squash or pumpkin can be added, along with seasoning such as chile powder.
Sauce: Hollandaise
Classic Preparation: Clarified butter whisked into warm egg yolks.
Mexican Twist: Chef Thompson adds chipotle, cinnamon, blood orange or other Mexican flavors to create a bernaise (a derivative hollandaise) that appears as a sauce on his brunch menu.
Sauce: Tomate
Classic Preparation: Aromatic vegetables sautéed in rendered salt pork, plus tomatoes, stock, and a ham bone.
Mexican Twist: Chef Thompson uses sauce tomate as a base for a picadillo, a classic Cuban and Mexican meat dish. Thompson’s version uses ground turkey, onion, sweet potato, garlic and white wine.