Gribiche is a French sauce made with hard boiled eggs, mustard, capers, cornichons and fresh parsley. It is served cold and can be made with just a knife giving it loads of texture or it can also be emulsified into a more creamy version depending on how you plan to serve it.
It is rich, tangy and full of complex flavors that will add instant interest to everything from fish to wilted greens, roasted asparagus to salmon croquettes or as a dip for vegetables or kettle chips. Adding a bowl of gribiche next to some olive tapenade will guarantee that your cheese board will be packed with flavor.
Let’s get started…
There are two ways that you can bring your gribiche together, but both will start with hard boiling 3 large eggs and finely chopping 2 cornichons, a heaping tablespoon of capers and a handful of fresh parsley.
Once the eggs have been hard boiled, divide the yolks and whites and gather 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard and some salt and black pepper.
Now that the ingredients have been gathered, it is time to choose whether you want a smoother, more sauce like gribiche or a chunky gribiche with more texture. Both are easy to make, but I find that the smoother version is best served with fish fillets and roasted vegetables, but the chunkier version works better with salmon croquettes or when serving as a dip.
If you want a smoother version, combine the 3 hard boiled egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard, 2 finely chopped cornichons, 1 tablespoon of finely chopped capers and a pinch of salt and black pepper in a blender. Blend on low speed until smooth and then drizzle 1/2 cup of olive oil into the sauce until it is completely incorporated. Finely chop or smash the egg whites and fold then into the sauce along with some very finely chopped parsley and chill in an airtight container until ready to serve.
If you prefer your gribiche with more texture then start by smashing the egg yolks into 1/2 cup of olive oil until mostly smooth and combined. Add the finely chopped capers, cornichons and parsley, a tablespoon of white wine vinegar, a teaspoon of grainy mustard and a pinch of salt and black pepper…
…and mix until everything is evenly distributed. Do a quick taste test and add additional salt or black pepper, if necessary. Transfer the sauce into an airtight container and chill the sauce until you are ready to use.
Gribiche can be made up to a day ahead, but I think 2 hours is the sweet spot. You’ll want to serve gribiche cold, but I don’t like it to sit around so long that it starts to break down too much.
This complex sauce is loaded with flavor and texture and is guaranteed to add tangy interest to anything you add it to.
Enjoy your gribiche… the French really know their sauces…
Sauce Gribiche
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs, hard boiled
- 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of grainy or dijon mustard
- salt and black pepper
- 2 cornichons, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of capers, finely chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Divide the yolks and whites off 3 large hard boiled eggs.
- Place the yolks in a bowl along with 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard and a pinch of salt and black pepper and whisk vigorously until the yolks are broken down and the mixture is thick, creamy and pale yellow color in color
- Finely chop the egg whites, parsley, cornichons and capers and fold them into the egg yolk mixture
- Chill in an airtight container until ready to serve
