Mousseline Sauce or Sauce Chantilly

Have you had mousseline sauce? Also sometimes known as sauce chantilly, this French sauce is light, creamy and lemony and the perfect sauce for simply cooked fish.

It's also perfect served with vegetables too, and the sauce only takes 5 minutes to make, so it's perfect for entertaining friends at home or for a romantic French dinner for two.

I've added fresh dill, as it goes so well with fish, but it's delicious on its own or with your choice of herbs. You really need to try this.

Bon appétit! 

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this dish
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Cooking time
• 🥗 Side Dishes
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣 Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• 🤔 FAQs
• French sauces to try
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

This is a really elegant French sauce that is creamy and buttery. It is the perfect partner with so many dishes, so it's a great sauce to master for entertaining.

Baked chicken, eggs, fish or steamed vegetables are perfect served with this sauce and it only takes a few minutes to make.

It's really easy to tailor the sauce too; try tarragon with chicken, dill or basil with fish and parsley with vegetables.

For this recipe the sauce is served with a simple pan fried lemon sole, so you can quickly cook the fish and make the sauce at the same time.

❤️ Why you will love this dish

• Classic French sauce.
• Made in minutes.
• Delicious with all fish and vegetables too.

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🥘 Ingredients

For the sauce

• Egg - free range large egg yolks.
• Lemon juice - for the best flavour use fresh. A little lemon zest added to the sauce at the end is great for extra flavour and garnish too.
• Seasoning - flaked sea salt. I prefer to use freshly ground black pepper, but if you prefer not to see flecks in the sauce use white pepper.
• Butter - salted or unsalted. If you are using salted butter adjust how much salt you add to the sauce.
• Whipped cream - to fold into the sauce to give it a light mousse texture.
• Dill - fresh dill leaves, removed from the stem and chopped.

💭Top tips for separating eggs

• I normally store my eggs at room temperature, but if you put your eggs in the fridge for an hour or so before you are ready to bake, then they will be easier to separate.
• Separate each egg, putting the yolk and whites in separate bowls then add the yolks to the bowl as you go. This makes it easier in case you come across a bad egg without wasting the rest

The printable recipe card with full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found at the bottom of the article.

🍽 Equipment

• whisk
• glass or ceramic bowl
• saucepan
• chopping board
• sharp knife
• lemon juicer

🔪 Instructions

The sauce comes together very quickly and needs to be served promptly.

I find that it's best to gather all the ingredients together and prepare them before you start.

Pull the fronds of dill from the stem and chop them finely.

Whisk the cream in a small bowl until it just holds its shape.

Cut the butter into small cubes. This will make it easier to incorporate into the sauce.

⏲️ Cooking time

Make the sauce by setting up a bain marie. You don't need to have any special equipment, just use a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. The bowl should sit on the saucepan and not in it so the bowl is heated with gentle heat from the water.

The aim is to have about an inch of water in the bottom of a saucepan over a low to medium heat that is at a simmer.

Take care to make sure that the bowl doesn't touch the water. In this way the contents of the bowl are warmed but don't get a direct heat. This will help to make the egg yolks increase in volume when they are whisked over warm air.

Put the egg yolks, lemon juice seasoning and a knob of butter in the bowl over the heat, whisking continuously.

The mixture should thicken and increase in volume in a couple of minutes.

Take the bowl off the heat and gradually whisk in the remaining butter.

Start with a couple of pieces and gradually add the rest.

Stir in the remaining lemon juice., lemon.

Stir in the chopped dill.

Fold in the whipped cream to the sauce.

It's important to do this gently, with a metal spoon. This helps to conserve the air whipped into the sauce.

Check the seasoning and add the salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately.

Pour the sauce over the fish or serve separately.

Decadent and delicious, this sauce turns an ordinary meal into something special.

What's your favourite sauce for fish?

🥗 Side Dishes

Serve sauce chantilly with baked, steamed or poached fish or try serving with one of these seafood dishes

• Cod Cheeks with Chorizo
• Seafood Parcels
• Fried Monkfish
• Honey Garlic Salmon
• Baked Seafood Parcels
• Bacon Wrapped Monkfish Tails

📖 Variations

• Herbs - other herbs that work well with fish are tarragon, parsley and basil.

🍣 Storage

• Refrigerator - cool, cover and store for 1 day.
• Freezer - freez cooked fish for up to a month. The sauce is not suitable for freezing.
• Reheat - reheat the fish in foil. The sauce can be returned to a bain marie to warm through. However, the cream will have deflated so the texture will be different.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• The sauce is best made just before you want to serve it. You can keep it warm in the bain marie, over a very low heat before adding the cream. split.

🤔 FAQs

Let me know what you think in the comments or you can post a picture and tag me on Twitter @chezlereve, Instagram @chezlerevefrancais, or Facebook @chezlerevefrancais

French sauces to try

• Mayonnaise
• Hollandaise Sauce - blender method
• Creamy Mushroom Shallot and Cognac Sauce
• Basic White Sauce Béchamel
• Cavolo Nero Kale with Beurre Noir
• Bacon Aioli
• Béarnaise Mayo
• Hollandaise
• Thermidor Sauce
• Mousseline Sauce
• Sauce Soubise
• Sauce Forestière
• Garlic Butter Sauce for Fish

📋 Recipe

More French sauces to try

🍲 Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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