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Rich brown sauce

1
1
1
SmartPoints® value per serving
Total Time
51 min
Prep
12 min
Cook
39 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Easy
This classic sauce, which features onions, carrots, celery, shallots, garlic, tomato paste, fresh parsley, and dried thyme, is ideal to serve with roast beef, beef tenderloin, or steak. To make this a demi-glace—a thick, intense base for other sauces—omit the salt and pepper and reduce the sauce to a syrupy consistency, which should take a few minutes longer. The recipe can also easily be doubled or tripled so you can have some on hand for last-minute meals. Cool the sauce and divide it among plastic containers, then refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Ingredients

Olive oil

2 tsp

Uncooked onion(s)

1 medium, finely chopped

Uncooked carrot(s)

1 small, chopped

Uncooked celery

½ rib(s), medium, chopped

Uncooked shallot(s)

1 medium, finely chopped

Garlic clove(s)

1 medium clove(s), minced

Canned beef broth

3 cup(s), reduced-sodium

Canned tomato paste

1 Tbsp

Fresh parsley

3 Tbsp, fresh sprigs

Dried thyme

½ tsp, or 1 fresh sprig

Table salt

¼ tsp

Black pepper

⅛ tsp

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, shallot, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are browned, about 7 minutes. Add the broth, tomato paste, parsley, and thyme; simmer until reduced to 2 1⁄2 cups, about 25 minutes.
  2. Strain the vegetables, then return the sauce to the saucepan. Discard the vegetables. Return the sauce to a simmer and cook until reduced to 11⁄2 cups, 6–7 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper. Yields 1/4 cup per serving.