Espagnole Sauce

In cooking, espagnole sauce is one of the mother sauces that are the basis of sauce-making in classic French cooking. In the late 19th century, Auguste Escoffier codified the recipe, which is still followed today.

Espagnole has a strong taste and is rarely used directly on food. As a mother sauce, however, it serves as the starting point for many derivatives, such as Sauce Africaine, Sauce Bigarade, Sauce Bourguignonne, Sauce aux Champignons, Sauce charcutière, Sauce Chasseur, Sauce Chevreuil and Demi-glace. There are hundreds of other derivatives in the classical French repertoire.

Escoffier included a recipe for a Lenten espagnole sauce, using fish stock and mushrooms in Le Guide culinaire but doubted its necessity.