The Pontchartrain sauce is a creamy and flavorful sauce often served with seafood dishes.
It originates from the culinary traditions of Louisiana, particularly from the New Orleans area.
The sauce is known for its rich flavor profile, making it a popular choice to enhance the taste of various seafood dishes.
The exact recipe for Pontchartrain sauce can vary from chef to chef, but there are some key ingredients commonly found in this delicious sauce.
Some of the essential components of Pontchartrain sauce include:
Butter: the base of the sauce is often made with butter, which adds a rich and creamy texture.
Seafood stock: to infuse the sauce with intense and savory flavor, seafood stock is often used as a key ingredient.
Heavy cream: adds a luxurious and velvety texture to the sauce, making it a perfect complement for seafood.
Garlic and shallot: these aromatic ingredients add depth and complexity to the sauce’s flavor profile.
Herbs and spices: a blend of typically Cajun herbs and spices adds a touch of flavor to the sauce.
White wine: adds a touch of acidity and brightness to the sauce.
Crab meat or shrimp: some variations of Pontchartrain sauce include adding crab meat or shrimp, further enhancing the sauce’s oceanic essence, as in my case.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Stove
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 24 shrimp
- 1 1/4 onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 carrot
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 4 sticks butter (+ 4 tablespoons)
- 1 clove garlic
- as needed Cajun spice mix
- 1/2 glass white wine
- 2/3 cup heavy cream (see below)
Steps
Clean the shrimp and use the leftovers to create the stock: 7 oz of water, onion, celery, and carrot. Cook for 30 minutes.
Create the roux with 4 sticks of butter and 4 tablespoons of flour.
Melt 1 stick of butter, add 1/4 onion, and the garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add the fish stock and roux. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the white wine, Cajun spice mix, and cream. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add the shrimp and reduce the sauce for 5 minutes.
Serve.
Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish lake in the United States, in southeastern Louisiana. The city of New Orleans is situated on the southern shore of the lake. With a surface area of about 710 square miles, it is the second-largest saltwater lake in the United States after the Great Salt Lake.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is heavy cream?
It is a type of cooking cream, equivalent to our full-fat or whole cream.
Numerous varieties of cream are used in Anglo-Saxon cuisine.
Used for preparing sweet or savory recipes – desserts, soups, and sauces – they are mainly distinguished by the amount of fat they contain.
One of the most caloric is heavy cream – also known as heavy whipping cream – with a fat content of about 36-40% (the Italian one is about 30%).
It can be replaced with a mix of skimmed milk and ricotta in equal parts, or 1 cup of skimmed milk and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, or even 50% Greek yogurt and 50% whole milk.
Alternatively, follow the Recipe for Heavy Cream:
Melt 1/3 cup butter brought to room temperature in a saucepan over low heat.
Remove from heat when the butter is three-quarters melted and allow it to cool slightly before adding it to 3/4 cup milk in a medium-sized bowl.
Mix with an immersion blender or an electric whisk, and continue to blend until they are fully incorporated.
Store the heavy cream in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Let it sit for 24 hours before consuming.
