Chicken Velouté with basil & sundried tomatoes

Chicken Veloute with basil and Sundried tomatoes©Kevin Ashton2023People who enjoy cooking often have a fear of making sauces, so they buy ready made sauces that are full of chemical additives, so I’m on a mission to teach people that sauce making is easier than you think! If you scroll to the bottom of the page I will explain about the six mother sauces in French cuisine.

Today I’m going to explain what Velouté is, how versatile it is, and how easy it is to make. When translated to English the word Velouté means velvety, and I will teach you how to make your Velouté velvety.  The sauce is made from equal amounts of flour and butter, which when cooked together become a roux. The stock for Velouté is a white stock, such as chicken, veal or fish, depending on what you plan to use the Velouté sauce for.

Once made, you can add lots of different ingredients to your Velouté such as cream or egg yolks to enrich it. Fresh herbs, roasted peppers, sundried tomatoes, various kinds of mustards, the list is almost endless.  When you make a fish Velouté you might add lemon juice, capers, white wine, fresh herbs…again the list is almost endless.

Velouté can also be used as a base for white meat stews or to make quick soups. For example, if you sauté mushrooms in garlic, add the Velouté to make some delicious homemade soup.

I recommend watching my short Velouté video to give you the confidence to give it a try. There are lots of cowboy methods on the internet of how to make a Velouté, but if you want it silky smooth sauce with no lumps this is how to make it.

Mother Sauces: In classical French cuisine, there are six “mother sauces” that are  the basis for many other sauces. The six mother sauces are Béchamel, Espagnole (brown sauce), Velouté , Tomato, Mayonnaise and Hollandaise.

Velouté Sauce recipe (serves 3-4)

50 grams unsalted butter

50 grams plain flour

500 ml chicken stock

  1. Melt the butter on a medium heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan.
  2. Once the butter is melted add the flour and stir in well with a wooden or silicone spoon.
  3. Keep stirring and allow the flour and butter mixture (called a roux) to colour very lightly to become a blonde roux. Cooking out the roux will break down the starch molecules to give you a smooth velvety sauce.
  4. Begin to add your hot chicken stock, half a ladle at a time, stirring in well and allowing the stock to be totally absorbed before adding more.
  5. Once all the stock has been added then turn the heat down and add salt and white pepper.

veloute sauce with basil and sundried toms

You can see from these close-ups how smooth and velvety my Velouté is.

To replicate the sauce I have on my chicken breast just stir these ingredients in and keep the sauce warm until you are ready to serve. You can add a little more chicken stock if the sauce reduces down too much, whilst you keep it warm.

Sauce Additions:

1 Tbsp of double cream (heavy cream)

40 grams of sundried tomatoes (softened in olive oil) diced

6 grams of fresh basil cut into very thin ribbons (chiffonade)

Chef’s Notes:

I served the chicken with deep fried sweet potatoes, which gave a great contrast of flavours and textures.

My next sauce masterclass begins soon and if you live in the UK why not sign up?

Chicken Velouté with basil & sundried tomatoes© Kevin Ashton 2023

42 thoughts on “Chicken Velouté with basil & sundried tomatoes”

    1. Thank you so much Patrice,
      Taking photos of hot food is race against congealing sauces and failing sunlight.
      My wife and I try to take as many shots as we can in a short space of time and hope we have captured something worthy of the blog.

      When food stylists create photos for magazines they use a lot of tricks, which can make the food inedible, when we are done with the food shoot it is dinner time.

      Best Wishes
      Kevin

      Liked by 3 people

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  2. This looks really tasty Kevin, and I love that you were generous with the sauce. The trend in so many restaurants right now seems to be to give us little frugal drops of sauce here and there on the plate, and there is never enough for all the protein!
    I enjoyed the video, and I must admit here that I’ve used a whisk at the very beginning when making a veloute or bechamel, afraid of lumps I guess! But obviously I shouldn’t be, and I always warm my liquid and pretty much do as you demonstrated.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Dorothy, Thank you so much for taking the time to watch my Velouté video on Youtube.

      I do agree with you that many modern restaurants are too frugal when it comes to the amount of sauce on the plate. To me it is all about balance of flavours and how much protein you have on the plate.

      Using a spoon when incorporating hot liquid into a roux forces the cook to add the stock more gradually and thus produce a smooth sauce. This slower process ensures that the flour cooks out properly. Many times in a busy kitchen I have used a whisk, added the stock too fast which resulted in lumps, forcing me to have to strain the sauce, thus the process end up slower.

      Of course, if I was making 10 gallons of a roux based sauce or soup I would use a whisk, but for most folks at home making a couple of pints, a trusty wooden or silicone spoon will do a better job.
      Thanks again for your support and kind words.
      Kevin

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    1. Thanks Layla, I agree tthe dish is a great autumn dinner dish. I was also hoping the recipe might boost my Velouté sauce video on my YouTube channel. It suddenly went crazy in September reaching over 51,000 views but now is slowing up again. The Youtube algorithm is such a mystery to me. lol
      Best Wishes
      Kevin

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    1. Thanks Balle, it is always good to hear from you. I am constantly amazed how often you post recipes on your blog, and then share them on your social channels.

      Today I discovered your YouTube channel and subscribed, thank you.
      Best Wishes
      Kevin

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      1. I was very happy about your kind words from a qualified mouth. I am also very happy about your YouTube subscription and have also found and subscribed to your channel.

        Best regards
        Blagica

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Katie for your kind words.
      I par boiled the sweet potatoes then deep fried them to make them crips on the outside and fluffy on the inside and made a wonderful contrast of flavours and textures.
      Best Wishes
      Kevin

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    1. Thanks Charlie,
      I just blanched the sweet potato chips in boiling salted water for about 3-4 minutes cooled and drained them then deep fried them.
      I left the skin on for extra flavour.

      The other day I was watching your interview on Youtube of Thelma Sias, and her sweet corn and sweet potato recipes. I do enjoy your videos and recommend others to give them a watch too.
      Best Wishes
      Kevin

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    1. Thank you, as I said in the post…. sauces are easier to make than most people think and of course better for you, because they don’t contain any chemical additives. Thanks again for reading and following my blog.
      Best Wishes
      Kevin

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