In cooking, espagnole sauce is one of the
mother sauces that are the basis of sauce-making in classic
French cooking.
Auguste Escoffier codified the recipe in the late
19th century, which is still followed today. Even though espagnole is the French word for Spanish, the sauce has little connection with Spanish cuisine. According to Louis Diat, the creator of
vichyssoise and the author of the classic Gourmet's Basic French Cookbook: "There is a story that explains why the most important basic brown sauce in French cuisine is called sauce espagnole, or Spanish sauce. According to the story, the Spanish cooks of
Louis XIII's bride, Anne, helped to prepare their wedding feast, and insisted upon improving the rich brown sauce of France with Spanish
tomatoes. This new sauce was an instant success, and was gratefully named in honor of its creators."
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A mother sauce. Basic brown sauce.