“Sauce gribiche” is as vintage French as it gets. Right up there with cheese souffle and duck a l’orange. Except it’s a condiment: a hybrid between Italian salsa verde and mayonnaise, typically served alongside very traditional dishes like pot-au-feu (braised meat and vegetable stew) and “tete de veau” (yes, that means calf’s head, a famous French recipe). But don’t run away if you’re vegetarian – it also wonderfully complements steamed vegetables, which is how I often like to serve it.
The word “gribiche” was a term defined as “wicked woman who scares children”. Strange right? Terrible name for such a great sauce. No matter, I’m sure you’ll love this wicked sauce.
Note: “Cornichons” are small vinegary pickles. I usually get the ones from the Maille brand, easily found at Carrefour, Choithrams and other supermarkets. If you can’t get your hands on them, just omit, but whatever you do, DO NOT REPLACE THEM WITH GHERKINS OR AMERICAN DILL PICKLES.
Ingredients
- 1 hard boiled egg, well done
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp capers, chopped
- 3 small cornichons, finely diced
- 1 tbsp chived, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup parsely, finely chopped
- Salt, pepper
Instructions
- Separate the cooked yolk from the egg white. Chop the egg white finely and set aside.
- Place the yolk in a small bowl and mash it up with a fork so that it becomes as smooth as possible. Add mustard to it and continue mash until it becomes an emulsion. Then gradually add the vinegar and oil while continuing to mix. It should become quite smooth – and if it doesn’t don’t worry, it won’t make it less delicious.
- Then stir in the chopped egg white, capers, cornichons and herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover and store in the fridge for up to a day
