Vegetable Jus Recipes

CLASSIC AU JUS

Steps:

• In a roasting pan, heat meat drippings over medium-high heat. Add carrot, celery and onion; cook and stir until vegetables are lightly browned and tender, 3-5 minutes, scraping brown bits from bottom of roasting pan. Add wine; simmer until reduced slightly, 3-5 minutes. , Add beef stock; simmer until reduced by about half and slightly thickened, 8-12 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with prime rib or other cooked beef.

VEGETABLE JUS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan. When smoking, add the shallots, carrots, celery, celeriac, and garlic. Fry them over a medium heat until colored.
• Add the mushrooms to the pan and stir frequently, then add the tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme and honey (you can use sugar too). Cook for another 5 minutes.
• Add the vegetable stock and bring to a quick boil, skim off the impurities and foam that rise to the surface. Bring down the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by ½.
• Add the Tamari and stir in the arrowroot mixed with a little water to thicken the sauce. Press it through a fine-mesh strainer and add the Madeira wine. The resulting sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon slightly.

HERB-ROASTED LEG OF LAMB WITH VEGETABLES AND JUS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• In roasting pan, combine onions, celery, and garlic cloves. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, toss well to coat, and mound in center of pan. Set lamb atop mixture. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper. Arrange carrots and celery root around meat and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Pour wine and broth into pan and cover pan tightly with heavy-duty foil.
• Roast 1 hour. Remove foil and increase heat to 425°F. Roast until thermometer inserted into thickest part of lamb registers 130°F for medium-rare, about 15 minutes more.
• Transfer lamb to carving board and tent with foil. Transfer carrots, celery root, and 1/2 of onions to medium bowl and keep warm. Force remaining contents of pan through medium-mesh strainer into medium saucepan, pressing well on solids. Skim off and discard fat. (Or pour pan juices through strainer into fat separator and let stand until fat rises to top, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully pour pan juices from separator into pan, discarding fat.)
• Set saucepan over moderate heat and bring to simmer. Cook, uncovered, until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Remove kitchen string from lamb and cut meat crosswise into thin slices. Arrange on platter with roasted vegetables. Serve warm, with jus alongside.

BASIC VEGETABLE STOCK

Steps:

• Chop scrubbed vegetables into 1-inch chunks. Remember, the greater the surface area, the more quickly vegetables will yield their flavor.
• Heat oil in a soup pot. Add onion, celery, carrots, scallions, garlic, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add salt and water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Strain. Discard vegetables.
• Other ingredients to consider: mushrooms, eggplant, asparagus (butt ends), corn cobs, fennel (stalks and trimmings), bell peppers, pea pods, chard (stems and leaves), celery root parings, marjoram (stems and leaves), basil, potato parings . . . Get the idea?