Grilled Tilapia with Supreme Sauce

Matthew 5:19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Fall is here.  That is when the temperatures fall and we have 39 degrees at night and 80 degrees during the day!  Oh well, often times I can’t make up my mind either!  The last of the garden produce is in.  It kinda makes me sad.  I love having fresh produce on hand.  This weekend I cut up the last of the peppers and put them in the freezer.  I will enjoy using them all through the winter.  We planted both red and green peppers.  What we got were green peppers with an occasional red spot.  I’m fairly certain that isn’t how mother nature intends us to do it, but sometimes you get what you get.

I know I have said before that we really love Tilapia.  We’ll we do!  So I am always looking for a new way to fix it or a new surprise topping.  This Supreme sauce turns grilled Tilapia into a meal fit to serve — we’ll on a cruise ship!  🙂  I hope you enjoy it also.

Supreme Sauce also known as Sauce Supreme is a white sauce used in many dishes.  It is a derivative of one of the 5 “Mother Sauces” called veloute sauce made with chicken stock. The basic ingredients of supreme sauce are chicken veloute sauce, heavy cream, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Supreme sauce is similar to another one of the “mother sauces” called béchamel sauce, another white sauce. The basic ingredients for béchamel sauce are butter, flour, milk, salt, pepper, and sometimes nutmeg.  The only major differences are the use of cream instead of milk, and the use of nutmeg.  We are not wild about nutmeg at our house and so I usually do not use this sauce.

Supreme sauce is typically served in chicken recipes or with any kind of poultry, seafood recipes, and lamb sweetbreads recipes.  Supreme sauce is also served on white fish such as cod, or shellfish such as pan-fried scallops.  And in our case, Tilapia!  We love Supreme Sauce and I like to occasionally add a bit of cayenne pepper giving the sauce a little “kick!”

In the future I plan to share the recipes for all of the 5 “Mother Sauces”, but for now I will start with my favorite!

TILAPIA WITH SUPREME SAUCE

4 – 6 Tilapia filets (you will have enough sauce for at least 6) Pour ¼ cup lemon juice over filets and let it set while putting together seasoning.Seasoning: Mix together in a plastic bag ½ cup Panko bread crumbs ¼ cup cornstarch ¼ teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon of your favorite herbs, i.e. herbs de Provence, lemon pepper, dill, parsley, thyme, Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Salmon Seasoning –(I use this often) Place fillets one at a time in the plastic bag, shake gently coating fish with seasoning. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy skillet over medium heat.  When oil is sizzling hot, cook filets 5 minutes on each side, turning once. While filets are cooking start making the Sauce Supreme. (or you can make the sauce first and just keep it warm while cooking the fish.) Sauce Suprême 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons heavy cream Juice of half a lemon 1 cup chicken stock Salt and pepper French sauces take care and a watchful eye.  Do not leave them or they will come out lumpy or burned. *  Begin by preheating a pan to medium. *  Add the butter. *  When it melts, immediately add the flour and stir constantly until the flour and butter are incorporated into a roux and forms a paste. *  Add the cream, bit by bit, pouring slowing until it is incorporated.  You pretty much never stop stirring. *  Add the chicken stock in the same manner. *  Add the lemon juice and cook for another minute or two or until you receive a sauce-like consistency with no lumps or thickness. *  Add more stock if needed to thin. *  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove fish filets to serving platter, gently spoon Supreme Sauce over each filet.  Serve remainder of sauce on the side. Bon appétit

DEFINING THE FIVE MOTHER SAUCES

Béchamel,the classic white sauce, was named after its inventor, Louis XIV’s steward Louis de Béchamel. The king of all sauces, it is often referred to as a cream sauce because of its appearance and is probably used most frequently in all types of dishes. Made by stirring milk into a butter-flour roux, the thickness of the sauce depends on the proportion of flour and butter to milk.

Velouté is a stock-based white sauce. It can be made from chicken, veal or fish stock. Enrichments such as egg yolks or cream are sometimes also added.

Espagnole, or brown sauce, is traditionally made of a rich meat stock, a mirepoix of browned vegetables (most often a mixture of diced onion, carrots and celery), a nicely browned roux, herbs and sometimes tomato paste.

Hollandaise and Mayonnaise are two sauces that are made with an emulsion of egg yolks and fat. Hollandaise is made with butter, egg yolks and lemon juice, usually in a double boiler to prevent overheating, and served warm. It is generally used to embellish vegetables, fish and egg dishes, such as the classic Eggs Benedict (one of my very favorites.)   Mayonnaise is a thick, creamy dressing that’s an emulsion of vegetable oil, egg yolks, lemon juice or vinegar and seasonings. It is widely used as a spread, a dressing and as a sauce. It’s also used as the base for such mixtures as Tartar Sauce, Thousand Island Dressing, Aïoli, and Remoulade.

Vinagrette is a sauce made of a simple blend of oil, vinegar, salt and pepper (usually 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar). More elaborate variations can include any combination of spices, herbs, shallots, onions, mustard, etc. It is generally used to dress salad greens and other cold vegetable, meat or fish dishes.

TIPS FOR SAUCE SUCCESS

Constantly stir roux-thickened sauces while cooking to prevent lumps.

If you must leave the sauce for a few seconds, set the pan off the heat during that time.

If a roux-thickened sauce develops a few lumps, beat them out with a rotary beater or wire whisk.  As a last resort, strain sauce with sieve to remove lumps.

Cook egg-thickened sauces over low heat, or cook these sauces in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water.

Always temper (warm) the egg yolks before adding them to the sauce by first stirring in a little of the hot sauce mixture into them. Then add to the remainder of the sauce mixture. Never let a sauce boil after the egg yolks are added as the sauce may curdle.

Don’t let water boil in the bottom of the double boiler if you use it to make egg-thickened sauces. Also, be sure that the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the pan holding the sauce.