White Wine and Mustard Sauce with Scallions (Spring Onions)
Three main ingredients and 10 minutes for a light, elegant sauce that lifts a pan-seared fish, a grilled chicken or steamed vegetables.
It is the proof that flavor does not require cream: the body comes from the mustard alone, which emulsifies the wine and the oil.
The scallions go in in two stages — the white part first, the green only in the last minute. The green needs far less time, and cooked from the start it loses both its color and its bite.
Ingredients
- 2 scallions (spring onions), thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 125 ml white wine (1/2 cup)
- 1 tbsp mustard
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Method
- 1
Base: soften the scallions in a skillet (frying pan) with the olive oil until translucent. The white part first; the green only in the last minute, because it needs far less time.
- 2
Deglaze: add the white wine and let it cook for a couple of minutes so the alcohol evaporates and the sharpness goes.
- 3
Emulsion: lower the heat, stir in the mustard and season. Cook a minute more until the sauce comes together. From here on it must not boil — the emulsion breaks and separates.
- 4
Serve immediately. This sauce lives on freshness and thickens if it is left standing.
Sauces
You eat with your eyes first, but it is the sauce that settles it: dry pasta never competes with a properly sauced plate. Here is a selection of the best homemade sauces, all easy to make, along with tips for keeping them.
