Sauce Choron — Tomato Béarnaise

Ingredients

• For the béarnaise reduction
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 60 ml white wine vinegar
• 5 g fresh tarragon stems, leaves reserved separately
• 5 g fresh chervil stems
• For the béarnaise
• 4 egg yolks
• 250 g clarified butter, warm, added in a thin stream
• For the tomato addition — classical method
• 30–45 ml tomato concassée, peeled, seeded, finely diced tomato; cooked gently in butter until completely dry
• For the tomato addition — modern method (alternative)
• 15–30 ml double-concentrated tomato paste, sieved smooth

Method

1. 1
   Combine the shallots, tarragon stems, chervil stems, and white wine vinegar in a small saucepan. Reduce over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the pan is almost dry and the mixture holds together as a dark, fragrant paste. The reduction is ready when almost no free liquid remains.
2. 2
   If using the concassée method: place the finely diced tomato in a small pan with a little butter and cook gently, stirring, until every trace of water has evaporated and the tomato is dense, concentrated, and moves as a single mass with no pooling liquid. This is the step the dish lives or dies on — any residual water introduced at this stage will break the emulsion when the tomato is folded in, and no recovery is possible.
3. 3
   Place the egg yolks and the strained reduction in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, ensuring the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk steadily until the yolks are thick, pale, and leave a ribbon trail; the mixture should hold a clear line drawn through it with a spoon.
4. 4
   Remove the bowl from the heat. Begin adding the warm clarified butter in a very thin, steady stream, whisking continuously. As the emulsion builds and thickens, the stream may be increased slightly. Continue until all the butter is incorporated and the sauce is thick, creamy, and holds its shape on a spoon.
5. 5
   Strain the béarnaise through a fine sieve. Taste: the sauce should lead clearly with tarragon and butter. The base is now complete.
6. 6
   Add the dried concassée or twice-sieved tomato paste to the béarnaise. Fold in gently with a spatula — do not whisk. The incorporation is complete when the sauce is a uniform coral-orange, with no streaks of white or red remaining, and still holds its shape on a spoon.
7. 7
   Taste the finished Choron. Tarragon and butter must lead; tomato should register as a warm, gentle afterthought — a blush of acidity and colour, not a dominant flavour. Adjust only if the tomato overwhelms the béarnaise character.