Sauce Béarnaise is the classic accompaniment to roast beef. It’s named for Béarn in southwestern France, the birthplace of Henri IV, although the rather tenuous connection seems to be that it was created around 1830 at a Parisian restaurant called Pavilion Henri IV, rather than any association with Béarn itself. Correctly it’s made by reducing vinegar with shallot and French tarragon (see FAQ below). French tarragon can be hard to find however, and there’s no point in using the tasteless Russian variety (the one with flowers), so I use this short-cut with tarragon vinegar – it’s less fiddly and almost as good. Stir some chopped chives through the sauce if you can’t get French tarragon. See video below to make pommes Dauphinoise, another great French accompaniment to roast beef.
Makes about 150ml
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Combine ¼ cup white wine vinegar, 1 finely diced golden shallot and 6 roughly chopped sprigs of French tarragon in a small saucepan and boil until almost all the liquid has evaporated (you only need 1 tablespoon), strain through a fine sieve pressing to extract as much liquid as possible and use in place of the tarragon vinegar in the above recipe.
