A Classic Sauce From Southern France
Like a French bordelaise sauce, a classic Provencal sauce is typically prepared with a wine from the region. In this case, it would be a wine from the southern Rhone wine region.
It would also include Herbes de Provence, a mixture of dried herbs typically including rosemary, thyme, oregano, savory, and marjoram.
The name herbes de Provence is now generic so the herbs can come from anywhere, and be packaged and sold under that name. They do not have to come from France.
Herbes de Provence is an excellent mixture to flavor grilled foods and stews and is added before cooking, not after.
Depending on what you are serving with a Provencal sauce, you may be using red or white wine and substituting some of the ingredients. The recipe below is typically used with chicken, duck, or some other poultry meat.
Chicken-Based Demi Glace
This recipe uses a chicken-based demi glace or Jus de Poulet Lie in French. Similar to a classic demi-glace, it is a chicken stock reduction that is bound with starch and used for preparing lighter-colored chicken-based sauces to be served with chicken, duck, turkey or light meats like pork or veal.
Provencal Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons shallots finely chopped
- ¼ cup white wine dry
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
- 1 cup chicken demi glace
- ½ cup tomatoes peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh chervil finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh parsley finely chopped
- salt & white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a saucepan over medium heat and when hot, add the olive oil, then sauté the shallots and garlic for 2 minutes until the shallots become translucent.
- Add the wine plus herbs de Provence and cook until the wine is reduced by half.
- Add the chicken-based or meat-based demi-glace if you can’t find it. You can also use chicken stock that has been reduced by half. Bring this to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, chervil, parsley, and some salt & white pepper. Cook for a couple more minutes, taste, and adjust seasonings.
- It is ready to serve when the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
How to Purchase Restaurant Quality Chicken Based Demi Glace
Until now, classic chicken-based demi-glace was unavailable to home cooks unless they prepared it themselves or settled for a commercial brand loaded with m.s.g. and other chemicals. You can purchase an authentic chicken-based demi-glace product called Jus de Poulet Lie Gold.
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