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Onion Sauce, French, or Sou- bise
INGREDIENTS. pint of Béchamel, 1 bay-leaf, seasoning to taste of pounded mace and cayenne, 6 onions, a small piece of ham. AVERAGE COST, 7d.
Peel the onions and cut them in halves; put them into a stewpan with just sufficient water to cover them, and add the with a quiet conscience. Any fish, indeed, may bay-leaf, ham, cayenne and mace; be careful to keep the lid closely shut, and be used with success.
ONION SAUCE. simmer them until tender. Take them out and drain thoroughly; rub them through a tammy or sieve (an old one does for the purpose) with a wooden spoon, and put them to pint of Béchamel; keep stirring over the fire until it boils, when serve. If it should require any more seasoning, add it to taste.
TIME.- hour to boil the onions.
A classic French purée-of-onion sauce built on béchamel, thickened by the onions themselves rather than by extra flour. It suits mutton, lamb, roast poultry and eggs.
- The quantity of béchamelThe amount of béchamel has lost its fraction in this printing; both mentions read simply "pint". For six onions, half a pint (about 10 fl oz) of béchamel gives a sauce thick enough to coat, while a full pint gives a pouring sauce. Judge by consistency rather than by the number.
- Cooking timeThe stated time has also lost its fraction. Halved onions barely covered with water take roughly 30-45 minutes at a bare simmer to go completely soft; they must collapse under a spoon before they will pass through a sieve.
- Keep the onions paleThe point of soubise is a white sauce. Simmer gently with the lid on, never let the water reduce to the point where the onions catch, and do not brown them at any stage.
- Drain hardThe onions hold a great deal of water, and any that goes into the béchamel will thin and dull it. Drain thoroughly in a sieve and press lightly before puréeing.
- Tammy or sieveA tammy is a fine cloth strainer through which purée was worked with a wooden spoon. A food processor followed by a pass through a fine sieve gives the same smooth result in a fraction of the time.
- The ham and bayBoth are flavourings only; the recipe does not say so, but they would be lifted out before the onions are sieved. A small piece of raw gammon or a scrap of unsmoked bacon is probably closest to the ham intended; smoked ham will dominate.
- MacePounded mace is ground mace, the lacy outer coat of nutmeg. If you have none, a scant grating of nutmeg is the usual substitute, though it is sweeter and less peppery.
- YieldThe recipe gives no yield; the quantities suggest enough sauce for perhaps four to six servings alongside a joint. Reheat gently and stir constantly; the onion solids will scorch on the base of the pan if left.
Soubise is generally traced to the household of the Princes de Soubise in eighteenth-century France, and the name has attached itself to almost anything built on a purée of onions, from this sauce to a rice-and-onion garnish. Mrs Beeton's version sits in the tradition of the French classical sauce repertoire that English cookery books absorbed through the nineteenth century: a base sauce, here béchamel, given a name and a character by one dominant flavouring. The average cost is listed as sevenpence.