Citrus Chardonnay Sauce

Date Prepared: 02/23/11

Source: This recipe was on the back of a package of Pasta Prima All Natural Lobster Ravioli purchased at Sam's Club

Lobster Ravioli with Citrus Chardonnay Sauce and Parmesan Cheese

*Recipe:

2 tablespoons shallot, minced
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup chardonnay wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed
1 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chop fine
salt and white pepper to taste

Combine the shallots, lemon juice, and Chardonnay wine in a medium sauce pan over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Add the heavy cream and continue to simmer until liquid is reduced by half.

Remove the simmering cream from the heat and immediately whisk in the butter cubes one at a time until fully incorporated. Stir in the parsley then season with salt and white pepper to taste.
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Difficulty: Medium - I love sauces but I don't make them very often. In theory they should be easy - add some liquid, seasoning, and thickener to a pot and reduce. In practice, it is not so trivial. Temperature, rate of addition, proportions and other factors affect the final product. This recipe, in and of itself, is not terribly difficult, but it falls into the larger category. The difficulty for me was in determining whether the sauce was done (i.e. thickness) or if additional treatment was required after all the ingredients had been added.

Accessibility: Common - The ingredients used for this recipe should be available at most grocery stores. An open bottle of wine will suffice otherwise they have the miniature bottles of wine available too.

Visual Appeal: This sauce has a nice creaminess to it but at heat is very thin and barely coats a spoon. No roux or thickener is added and though I suspect the butter does help tighten the sauce, it doesn't serve so well at temperature. The added fresh parsley provides some contrast to the faint yellow cream sauce.


Overall Taste: The flavor was really quite nice. We are naturally inclined to pair lobster with butter and, perhaps, lemon, so the sauce goes well with the prepared lobster ravioli from Pasta Prima. The sauce has a nice silkiness to it (likely thanks to the butter) and the lemon helps cut the richness of the cream and butter. It is surprisingly light in texture and bright in flavor but not likely skimping on the calories.


Overall Experience: I must admit that this recipe had me slightly anxious. One area of culinary I would appreciate getting to know better would be sauce preparation. To break a cream sauce or improperly prepare a gastrique can ruin a dish or, at least, waste some precious time. However, sauces are so critical to tying together the components of a dish (in my opinion). In spite of my disappointment over the thickness of the sauce, I am happy that I took the little bit of time and afforded myself the extra calories to try this sauce. I would certainly make this sauce again - or some variation of it, anyway.

Additional Notes: The individual bottles of wine are only 6oz. each, which is the standard serving volume for wine. However, the recipe requires a full 8 ounces. If choosing this route, be sure to purchase multiple bottles.

*The recipe and instructions for this recipe have been reported to maintain the original instruction and is not an original recipe and belongs to the source indicated. This post has been prepared as a review only and with no intention to take credit for this recipe. This recipe has been reviewed without instruction or influence by the parties or companies mentioned therein