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Blueberry bliss in a glass v
Deep purple, delicious and wonderful (so they say) for keeping those brain cells lively and youthful, blueberries make a great smoothie. Add 225g (8oz) of them instead of the strawberries.
Pomegranate bliss in a glass v
Leave out the strawberries and instead pop the juicy red seeds out of 1 large pomegranate by cutting it in half then bending back each half to release the seeds, dislodging them with the aid of a small pointed knife. Add the pomegranate seeds to the blender along with the other fruit and whiz until completely smooth.
Green bliss in a glass v
Try adding a good handful of baby spinach leaves to any of these smoothies. You won’t taste the spinach – it will be just like a fruit smoothie – but you’ll notice the extra, sustained energy that the green leaves give you. A green smoothie must be one of the most health-giving drinks on the planet. You can use other dark green leaves too; kale, for instance. Start with a few leaves and add more once you get used to the flavour.
Yoghurt and orange smoothie v
This is calming, revitalising and quick to make.
MAKES ABOUT ONE 250ML (9FL OZ) GLASS
1 orange, peeled
150ml (5fl oz) natural yoghurt or vegan yoghurt (#litres_trial_promo)
a little clear honey (optional)
Break the orange into segments and place in blender. Add the yoghurt, then whizz for 30–60 seconds or until fairly smooth, adding a little honey to taste, if you like. There will still be some chunky pieces of orange, but these give the drink ‘body’ and provide extra fibre.
Sauces and relishes (#u5a6afb13-5444-57a9-9f11-ae88a157ea7b)
A sauce can provide the perfect finishing touch to a dish; it can make the difference between ordinary and exceptional and transform some of your favourite dishes into something really special.
In this chapter you’ll find many easy sauces and relishes that can accompany a variety of dishes – try some tangy Béarnaise (#ulink_210cb811-9c0d-5f67-a17a-f4f957d8e638) with crispy aubergine fritters (#ulink_80c7a3b4-3f5e-52bf-a80c-fe9242bbba8a) or creamy mushroom and Marsala sauce (#ulink_b238c371-fe07-566e-801a-cadd0d793164) with tofu escalopes (#litres_trial_promo). You’ll also find many reliable classics – tomato sauce (#ulink_0a661fbf-5fef-58c2-90ba-70dfb16d5d68) for pizza and delicious hollandaise (#ulink_7d86622e-b362-5439-86b6-d0a828428f69). The good news is that they are all simple to make. Plus, if you’re in a hurry, my ultra-easy blender béchamel sauces (#ulink_210cb811-9c0d-5f67-a17a-f4f957d8e638) will turn a simple dish of steamed vegetables into a main course with just a topping of breadcrumbs, a scattering of grated cheese and a flash under a hot grill.
Apple sauce
You can use cooking apples, which cook to a lovely, soft, fluffy purée, or sweet eating apples, which require less sugar. Either way, the result is a pleasant, fruity sauce that goes well with lentil loaf or pease pudding.
SERVES 4–6
450g (1lb) apples
4 tbsp water
4 tbsp sugar
15g (½oz) butter
salt
Peel and core the apples, then cut them into smallish pieces.
Put the apple pieces, water, sugar and butter into a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan and cook gently, with a lid on the pan, until the apples are soft.
Season with a little salt, then mash the mixture slightly with a wooden spoon to break up the apple. (Or you can blend it if you prefer a smoother consistency.)
VARIATION
Apple and cranberry sauce
For this version, cook 125g (4oz) fresh cranberries, washed and picked over, with the apples. You’ll need to add more sugar as cranberries are very sharp.
Apple and redcurrant sauce
Use redcurrants instead of the cranberries or just soften the apples in 2 rounded tablespoons of redcurrant (or cranberry) jelly and leave out the sugar.
Blender Béarnaise sauce
This is a quick version of the classic rich French sauce. First, you reduce the vinegar in a saucepan to concentrate the flavour, then add it to the egg yolks in a blender and pour in the melted butter. It only takes a few minutes to make and is superb with dishes such as lentil and mushroom burgers (#litres_trial_promo) or cashew and dill fritters (#litres_trial_promo). A pleasant variation is to stir 125g (4oz) of fromage frais into the finished sauce – this lightens it and makes enough to serve eight people.
SERVES 6
125g (4oz) butter
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp very finely chopped onion 8 peppercorns, lightly crushed
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
Heat the vinegar, onion and peppercorns together in another small pan until the vinegar has reduced by half.
Put the egg yolks and lemon juice into a blender and purée until just creamy, then strain in the vinegar mixture and blend again.
With the blender still going, slowly pour the melted butter in. As you do so, the mixture will thicken to a beautiful creamy consistency.
Season with salt and pepper and serve while still warm. If you need to keep it warm, transfer it to a bowl and stand in a saucepan or roasting tin of boiling water.
Quick blender béchamel sauce
This is a labour-saving way to make béchamel sauce and tastes just as good as the traditional version (see the cheese sauce). Parsley sauce (#ulink_2e25028f-2ce2-57b2-a3a2-246fa8b2e191) is particularly easy when made by this method because you don’t have to chop the parsley; simply pop the sprigs into the blender with everything else.
SERVES 4
25g (1oz) butter
25g (1oz) plain flour
275–425ml (10–15fl oz) milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the butter, flour and milk into the blender, then add about ½ teaspoon of salt and a good grinding of black pepper.
Blend at high speed for a few seconds to break up the butter and mix everything together. There will be some lumpy bits of butter, but that doesn’t matter.
Pour the mixture into a medium-sized saucepan and place over a moderate heat. Stir the sauce until it has thickened, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Lengthy simmering, to avoid a raw, floury taste, is particularly important with this method because there has been no initial cooking of the flour, as in traditional sauce-making.
VARIATION
Celery sauce
3–4 tablespoons of very finely chopped celery and ½ teaspoon of celery salt can be added to the sauce after blending and simmered until tender.
Cheese sauce
Add 125g (4oz) grated cheese after the sauce has cooked.
Egg sauce
Add three very finely chopped hardboiled eggs and a pinch of mace to the basic sauce.
Fennel sauce
Add 2–3 tablespoons of very finely chopped fennel bulb to the sauce before simmering.
Green herb sauce
Use 1–2 tablespoons of very finely chopped fresh green herbs (whatever is available), and add just before serving.
Lemon sauce
Add some finely grated lemon rind and juice to the basic white sauce. You can intensify the colour with a pinch of turmeric.
Mushroom sauce
This is good with vegetables and for serving with pasta and gnocchi. To make it, wash and finely slice 125g (4oz) button mushrooms, fry them in a little butter for a minute or two, then add them to the sauce.
Mustard sauce
Add 1 tablespoons of French mustard and a little lemon juice to the sauce after cooking.
Onion sauce
Another useful variation, good when you want to add more flavour to a dish. Peel and finely chop an onion, then fry it in the butter before blending with the other ingredients. Try flavouring with a pinch of ground cloves.
Parsley sauce
Add sprigs of parsley into the blender with the other ingredients at the beginning of the process.
Watercress sauce
Add ½–1 bunch of finely chopped watercress to the sauce, or add unchopped watercress to the sauce and blend it.
Vegan béchamel sauce v
Use vegan margarine instead of butter, and soya milk.
Bread sauce
One of the delights of Christmas dinner, and it’s every bit as good with a vegetarian main course as it is with a meat one.
SERVES 4–6
1 onion 3 cloves
275ml (10fl oz) milk or unsweetened soya milk
1 bay leaf
2 large slices of fresh white bread, crusts removed
15g (½oz) butter
1–2 tbsp double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Put the onion, studded with the cloves, into a saucepan and add the milk and the bay leaf.
Bring to the boil, then take off the heat, add the slices of bread, cover and leave to one side for 15–30 minutes for the flavours to infuse.
Remove the onion and bay leaf, beat the mixture to break up the bread and stir in the butter and cream, adding salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
If you are making the sauce in advance, you can put back the onion and bay leaf once you have beaten it smooth; they will continue to flavour the sauce until you’re ready to reheat and serve it.
Cheese sauce
Cheese sauce is useful both for incorporating into other dishes before baking or grilling, and for serving with vegetables to make them into more of a meal. It’s worth using a strongly flavoured cheese, and you can boost the flavour with a good seasoning of mustard, cayenne and freshly ground black pepper. Unsweetened soya milk makes a particularly good, creamy sauce and Double Gloucester gives it a pretty colour.
MAKES 275ML (10FL OZ)
