Sauce à L'Aurore is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic red sauce made from a bechamel base coloured with lobster butter and flavoured with lemon juice that's typically served with trout, soles or other white fish. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Sauce à L'Aurore.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
SAUCE A L'AURORE, for Trout, Soles, &c.
511. INGREDIENTS.—The spawn of 1 lobster, 1 oz. of butter, 1/2 pint of Béchamel (No. 367), the juice of 1/2 lemon, a high seasoning of salt and cayenne.
Mode.—Take the spawn and pound it in a mortar with the butter, until quite smooth, and work it through a hair sieve. Put the Béchamel into a stewpan, add the pounded spawn, the lemon-juice, which must be strained, and a plentiful seasoning of cayenne and salt; let it just simmer, but do not allow it to boil, or the beautiful red colour of the sauce will be spoiled. A small spoonful of anchovy essence may be added at pleasure.
Time.—1 minute to simmer. Average cost, for this quantity, 1s.
Sufficient for a pair of large soles.
Seasonable at any time.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
spawn of 1 lobster
30g butter
300ml Béchamel sauce
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and cayenne pepper, to taste
Method:
Pound together the lobster spawn and butter in a mortar until completely smooth then press through a fine-meshed sieve with the back of a wooden spoon.
Pour the Béchamel sauce into a pan, add the spawn and butter mixture then mix in the lemon juice. Season liberally with salt and cayenne pepper, bring to a simmer (but do not allow to boil). If desired, you can add a tablespoon of anchovy essence.
Serve immediately. In more modern versions, a mix of tomato purée and paprika is typically used as a red colorant for aurore sauce, instead of the lobster spawn, but the effect is the same.
