Beurre Noisette means brown butter, nut brown butter. Literally beurre noisette means hazenut butter although no hazelnuts are used in its production – it’s more about it being a hazelnut colour with a slightly nutty taste.
It sounds quite fancy but actually a beurre noisette recipe is really simple to make and is a classic French sauce used to accompany dishes like cooked fish, or poured over vegetables or pasta.
Makes 125ml/4fl oz/1⁄2 cup
Cooking time 5 minutes
Beurre Noisette is simply butter that is browned in the pan…
Slice the butter, drop into a pan, heat it gently and whisk as it melts.
The butter will foam then subside but you’ll need to keep a close eye on it to prevent burning. Watch for lightly browned specks forming on the butter of the pan and you’ll also get a nutty aroma. Take the pan off the heat at this point and let it cool down to prevent further cooking – it is easy to burn the butter. Use it straight away or keep it covered in the fridge for later use (heated gently)…
To add flavour to your beurre noisette to use with fish, add lemon juice and salt and pepper:
125g/41⁄2oz unsalted butter
2 tsp lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black
1 Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the butter and cook for a few minutes, whisking gently until it turns a nutty golden brown.
2 Add the lemon juice, swirl to combine, then remove from the heat immediately. Season with salt and pepper.
