Nantua Sauce Recipe

A Béchamel-based sauce made with cream and crayfish stock and garnished with crayfish tails. Nantua sauce is served with seafood or egg dishes. Alternatively, crayfish can be substituted with prawns shells and heads.

What Is Nantua Sauce?

Nantua sauce is a classic French crayfish sauce traditionally served with fish, seafood and delicate egg or quenelle preparations. This version is built from a crayfish stock enriched with cream and combined with Béchamel sauce. Its defining flavour comes from the shells and juices of crayfish, which create a deeply savoury seafood base with a gentle sweetness.

How the Crayfish Stock Builds Flavour

The shells, heads and aromatics are sautéed first to develop flavour. Cognac or brandy is used to deglaze the pan, followed by tomato, herbs and fish stock. A gentle simmer extracts flavour before the stock is strained and reduced. Reducing the strained liquid concentrates the crayfish flavour and gives the finished sauce its character.

Finishing and Serving Nantua Sauce

Once the crayfish stock has been reduced and enriched with cream, it is combined with Béchamel to create a smooth, coating consistency. Whisk thoroughly, bring the sauce to a brief boil as directed in the recipe, then strain it through a fine sieve. Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and a small amount of cayenne. Serve with poached white fish such as sole or halibut, seafood quenelles, or other delicate preparations that benefit from a rich shellfish sauce.

Chef’s Tips for a Smooth Sauce

• Crush or press the cooked shells during straining to extract flavour, but pass the stock through a fine sieve to remove shell fragments.
• Reduce the stock after straining so the sauce gains flavour without a gritty texture.
• Whisk the Béchamel into the crayfish base gradually to avoid lumps.
• Keep the finished sauce smooth and fluid enough to coat the fish; adjust consistency with a little stock or cream if necessary.
• Crayfish may be replaced with prawns when crayfish are unavailable, as noted in this recipe.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes           Cooking Time: 30 minutes           Yield: 3 cups of sauce

Ingredients
¾ cup of Béchamel sauce
Crayfish stock
2 tsp vegetable oil or olive oil
15 small live crayfish or 15 small prawns with heads
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 cup of small Mirepoix (carrot, onion, celery cut ¼ inch)
½ tsp peppercorns crushed
2 small bay leaves
3 button mushrooms chopped
2 tbsp Cognac or brandy
1 cup tomatoes diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp tarragon, chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
4 cups fish stock
1/2 cup cream

Preparation Steps:

Make the crayfish stock: Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized stock pot over medium heat.  When the oil is very hot, add the live crayfish and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and Mirepoix, peppercorns, bay leaf and button mushrooms. Cook for another minute. Add the cognac and flame the pan. After the flame dies, mash them up with a spoon, add the chopped tomato, parsley, tarragon and tomato paste. Moisten with the fish stock, enough so that it will cover the ingredients in the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain the contents of the saucepan with the crayfish through a chinois pushing down with a ladle to extract all the juices into another sauté pan. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid by two thirds. Add the cream, taste and season with salt, pepper, and a pinch cayenne pepper. Strain through a fine sieve and reserve.

Finish the Nantua sauce: Make the Béchamel and add to it with the same amount of crayfish stock. Taste and rectify the seasoning if necessary. Bring to a boil, whisk to dissolve any lumps in sauce, then strain the sauce through a fine sieve, into  a clean sauce-pan  Use the sauce with poached fish such as sole, Tilapia, halibut, etc…or with white meats, such as veal medallions or chicken breast.