- French
- Vegetarian
- Tomato
Made by blending tomato purée with rich and tangy Béarnaise, this sauce is the perfect addition to your next steak.
By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Senior Culinary Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
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Updated April 14, 2023
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Why It Works
- Using an immersion blender makes it totally easy to form what can otherwise be a difficult sauce.
- A basic tomato purée made from fresh tomatoes adds a bright, sweet flavor.
The beauty of French mother sauces is just that: They have children. Béchamel, for instance, becomes silky, cheesy Mornay sauce with the addition of Gruyère, orsoubisewhen cooked with onions.*
*Although I actually prefer a more modern version of soubise, with just cream and no béchamel.
Sadly, we don't take advantage of this fact nearly often enough. Most of us know that Hollandaise, the emulsified butter sauce with lemon and egg yolks, can be made into Béarnaise, which is flavored with wine vinegar, tarragon, shallots, and black pepper. But how many of us expand beyond that? I'd like to change that just slightly today by sharing a recipe for another Hollandaise derivative: Choron sauce.
Choron is nothing more than Hollandaise or Béarnaise with tomato added to it, but that addition does more than just turn it a pretty color. It adds a tomatoey sweetness that isn't too different from what ketchup does to mayo when you make Russian dressing. That's actually a really good way to think of Choron; it's like a somewhat fancier, warm alternative to Russian dressing.
You can eat it with almost anything: cooked vegetables, fish, eggs, chicken, beef. In the photos here, I'm serving it with a nicely seared steak. It all starts with a Béarnaise base, and I usedKenji's foolproof immersion-blender methodto do it.
You start in the classic fashion, by reducing white wine vinegar and white wine with shallots, black peppercorns, and tarragon until syrupy. Then you strain out the solids and combine that reduction with egg yolks in a tall, narrow vessel.
While an immersion blender whirs away, you slowly drizzle in melted butter to form a thick, mayo-like emulsion. Add some minced tarragon, and that takes care of the Béarnaise. To turn it into Choron, simply stir in some tomato purée or other thick tomato sauce.
In my recipe, I'm using myeasy cooked tomatocoulis, which is just a fancy word for a basic, plain tomato sauce. Itested multiple ways of making coulisand settled on a method in which you cut the tomatoes into chunks, simmer them down for several minutes, then strain out the skins and seeds with a food mill or mesh strainer. If the coulis is a little loose, just cook it down until it thickens slightly, to more of a purée consistency.
The last step is just to taste the sauce: You may find that it needs another splash of white wine vinegar to balance the extra sweetness the tomato introduces, so adjust accordingly. Then keep it warm until you're ready to serve it.
Choron will put a face on your steak—or whatever you're serving—that any mother (sauce) would love.
September 2016
Recipe Details
Choron Sauce (Tomato-Spiked Béarnaise Sauce) Recipe
Active35 mins
Total35 mins
Serves16 servings
Makes2 cups
Ingredients
1 recipefoolproof Béarnaise sauce
1/4 cup quick-cooked tomato coulis(see note)
White wine vinegar, to taste
Directions
As soon as you finish making the Béarnaise, add the tomato coulis and blend with an immersion blender until completely incorporated. Taste sauce; if the added sweetness of the tomato requires it, add more vinegar to taste until sauce is well balanced. (It should be sweet, with a subtle but noticeable tartness.) Keep warm until ready to serve.
Special Equipment
Strainer or food mill, immersion blender
Notes
If your tomato coulis (i.e., the purée) is a little bit thin, reduce it by gently simmering it in a nonstick skillet until it forms a slightly thicker purée; use a full 1/4 cup of that reduced purée. You can also substitute 2 tablespoons tomato paste for the 1/4 cup tomato coulis.
Read More
- Green Peppercorn Pan Sauce
- Horseradish Cream Sauce
- Charred Asparagus With Miso Béarnaise Sauce
- Ultra-Smashed Brunch Burgers With Quick Jalapeño Hollandaise Recipe
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
---|---|
137 | Calories |
15g | Fat |
1g | Carbs |
1g | Protein |
Show Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Servings: 16 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 137 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 15g | 19% |
Saturated Fat 9g | 45% |
Cholesterol 73mg | 24% |
Sodium 171mg | 7% |
Total Carbohydrate 1g | 0% |
Dietary Fiber 0g | 1% |
Total Sugars 0g | |
Protein 1g | |
Vitamin C 1mg | 4% |
Calcium 16mg | 1% |
Iron 0mg | 2% |
Potassium 44mg | 1% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)