FRESH BASIL SAUCE

      Title: FRESH BASIL SAUCE
  Categories: Seasonings, Italian, Sauces
       Yield: 1 Batch
  
     1/4 c  White wine vinegar or
     1/4 c  Basil vinegar
     1/4 c  Dry white wine
       1 tb Shallot; finely chopped
     1/2 ts Whole black peppercorns
       1 tb Fresh basil; chopped
       1 c  Unsalted butter
       3    Egg yolks; at room temp.
            Salt; to taste
       1 ts Fresh basil (up to 2 ts.)
            -- chopped
  
   "This buttery egg sauce is fashioned after classical French
   bearnaise, but substitutes basil for tarragon."
   
   Boil together first 5 ingredients in a small heavy saucepan until
   liquid is reduced to about 2 tb. Remove from heat; set aside.
   
   In a clean saucepan, melt butter; remove from heat when it begins to
   bubble.  Meanwhile, place egg yolks in container of blender. Set a
   small sieve over opening and pour basil-shallot reduction through
   this and into the blender jar.  Press solids with back of a spoon to
   extract all juices, then discard solids.
   
   Place blender top on and blend briefly at high speed. Remove small
   inner cap from the lid.  With blender running at high speed, add hot
   butter in a thin, slow stream. Blend until mixture thickens and
   machine begins to sound clogged.  Add salt and chopped basil to taste.
   
   Serve warm.  (To keep ahead of time, place near a warm stove element
   or in a pan of warm water.)  Good over grilled hamburgers and baked
   potatoes; also delicious with green vegetables, poultry, fish and egg
   dishes.
   
   For Bearnaise Sauce:  Substitute tarragon vinegar for basil vinegar
   and chopped fresh tarragon for basil.
   
   Yield:  About one cup.
   
   From _Nancy Enright's Canadian Herb Cookbook_ by Nancy Enright.
   Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, 1985.  Pg. 7. ISBN 0-88862-788-2.
   Posted by Cathy Harned.
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