Gribiche Sauce
Gribiche is a classic French sauce that uses boiled eggs to make a mayonnaise and adds herbs, cornichons (small French pickles), and capers. It is a great picnic sauce to serve with cold sliced meats and fish. I also enjoy it with crab cakes and salmon croquettes.
Ingredients:
5 oz Sunflower oil
2 Eggs, hard-boiled
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Vinegar, white wine
1 Tbsp Tarragon, fresh, chopped
1 Tbsp Parsley, fresh, chopped
3-4 Cornichons, chopped
2 Tbsp Capers, rough chopped
Pinch of Cayenne, optional
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Half the hard-boiled eggs and separate the yolks. In a medium sized mixing bowl, press the yolks through a sieve, or if you do not have a sieve, you can mash with a fork until roughly granulated. Chop the egg whites and reserve.
Add the Dijon and vinegar and slowly add the sunflower oil while whisking briskly. This should emulsify into a nice thick texture.
To the sauce add the egg whites, herbs, cornichons, capers, a pinch of pepper, and pinch of cayenne. Fold together and add additional pepper to taste. Between the pickled items and the egg yolks, there may already be enough salt in the sauce. Taste and add salt as necessary.
Family Tricks:
Damage Control: Whether this is your first time making this sauce or the fiftieth, there is a chance it will break. This occurs when the emulsion fails and will appear as the sauce losing texture and becoming grainy with a curds and whey appearance. It is a devastating feeling to have; however, there is a chance you can save it. In a separate bowl add a dab of mustard and a dash of vinegar (about a teaspoon of each). Whisk this together with bit of the broken sauce, and it should begin to tighten back up. The rest of the broken sauce can be gradually incorporated with a whisk. Once the sauce creates the emulsion, you can follow the recipe and fold in the rest of the ingredients.
