Cauliflower Velouté Sauce

Did I invent this? Probably not, but I certainly stumbled upon it by accident while performing a failed Cauliflower Purée experiment, and the result blew me away. I was trying to use sous-vide for mashed cauliflower and instead I got liquid gold.

This is a refined white velouté sauce built from sous-vide extraction and a controlled nutty reduction. Silky, savory, and naturally thickened without starch.

It tastes nothing like cauliflower; it's more of a brown butter sauce. It's an unexpected accompaniment to meat dishes, and no doubt more things you can come up with.

This recipe requires sous-vide to work.

Ingredients

• 1 medium cauliflower
• ½ small onion, sliced, to provide sweetness and depth.
• 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed and gently cooked, to add more sweetness and savory notes.
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided into thirds
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Method

Sous-Vide the Cauliflower

1. Place entire cauliflower, sliced onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon butter, chicken stock, and salt to taste in a vacuum bag. Seal tightly.
2. Cook sous-vide at 185°F / 85°C for 3 hours.
3. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, reserving the liquid. We only care about the liquid for this recipe.

Reduce the Sauce

1. In a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-low heat until milk solids turn pale golden and aroma becomes lightly nutty.
2. Immediately add the cauliflower liquid and simmer gently.
3. Reduce by 25–50% until the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon. Stop reduction if aroma shifts toward bitterness or sauce darkens beyond pale gold.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining cold butter until emulsified.
5. Stir in heavy cream. Adjust salt to taste.

Storage

• Refrigeration: Store up to 3 days in a sealed container.
• Freezing: Freeze in small portions; sauce freezes well.
• Reheating: Warm gently without boiling once butter or cream has been added.