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250g (9oz) chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp plain flour
125ml (4fl oz) Marsala
200ml (7fl oz) crème fraîche
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, cover and cook gently for 2–3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 4–5 minutes, until they are tender.
Add the flour and stir over the heat for a minute or two, then pour in the Marsala and let the mixture bubble away over the heat for 3–4 minutes, or longer if you want to reduce it more. Stir in the crème fraîche, adding salt and pepper to taste. Reheat gently, then serve.
Mushroom and soured cream sauce
This is a creamy fresh-tasting sauce that’s best served warm and is delicious with nut or pulse savouries, burgers and also with plainly cooked vegetables.
SERVES 4–6
15g (½oz) butter
125g (4oz) button mushrooms, chopped
150ml (5fl oz) soured cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of paprika
Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan and fry the mushrooms for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the soured cream and salt, pepper and a little paprika to taste.
Reheat gently, but don’t let the sauce boil.
Red onion marmalade v
Sweet and tangy, this goes with so many things and is so good you can even eat it as it is. It makes a great topping for bruschetta (#ulink_472c1d1a-b21c-5957-a0fe-57c77f7e16de) and keeps well in the fridge for a week or so.
SERVES 4–8
1kg (2¼lb) red onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
3 tbsp fino sherry
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions, cover and cook, stirring every 5 minutes, for about 15 minutes or until they’re very tender. They must be really soft before you go on to the next stage.
Add the sugar, sherry and vinegar, then leave to simmer gently, without a lid, for about 30 minutes or until you have a thick, sticky mixture with hardly any liquid left. Remove from the heat, season to taste with salt and pepper and leave to cool. Store in a covered container in the fridge for about a week.
Red wine sauce
This sauce always makes a meal taste special. You can use either an inexpensive wine, or some extra of whatever you’re having with the meal. Try this with the chestnut, sage and red wine loaf (#litres_trial_promo).
SERVES 6
425ml (15fl oz) vegetable stock
425ml (15fl oz) red wine
1 bay leaf
a piece of onion
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
a pinch of dried thyme
5 tsp black peppercorns
2–3 parsley stalks
1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
salt and freshly ground black pepper
40g (1½oz) butter, softened
20g (¾oz) plain flour
Put the stock and red wine into a saucepan with the bay leaf, onion, garlic, thyme, peppercorns and parsley stalks and bring to the boil. Let the mixture bubble away for 10–15 minutes so that the amount of liquid reduces to half. Strain into a clean saucepan and mix in the redcurrant jelly and some salt and pepper.
Next make a beurre manié: simply mash half the butter with the flour to make a paste and add this, in small pieces, to the still-warm sauce, mixing well after you’ve added each piece. This is an easy, foolproof way to thicken a sauce.
Put the sauce back over the heat and stir it until it has thickened slightly.
Let the sauce simmer gently for a few minutes to cook the flour. Check the seasoning again and beat the remaining butter into the sauce just before serving to make it look glossy and appetizing.
Tip
If you want to prepare the sauce in advance, after you’ve added the beurre manié and simmered the sauce for a few minutes, take it off the heat and dot the remaining butter over the top of the sauce to prevent a skin forming. When you’re ready to eat, heat the sauce gently and stir the butter in.
Salsa v
Zingy and refreshing, this perks up so many dishes and can be made several hours in advance. Add the chilli to taste – either cautiously if you’re unsure or generously for hardened chilli lovers.
SERVES 4–8
4 tomatoes, fairly finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp chopped red onion
1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp lime juice
½ tsp salt
Just mix everything together and set aside until you are ready to serve. If you have time, leave to stand for a while to bring out all the flavours.
Satay sauce v
This is a gorgeous tangy, creamy, protein-rich sauce that you can whip up in a moment. You can serve it with the deep-fried salt and pepper tofu (#litres_trial_promo), or with cubes of fried smoked tofu; it’s also fabulous in the cauliflower satay (#litres_trial_promo). I like to use good-quality pure peanut butter, but you could also use cashew or almond butter if you like. You can find jars of tamarind and vegetarian Thai red curry paste (i.e. not containing fish) in large supermarkets.
SERVES 3–4
3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
5 tbsp coconut milk
1 tbsp tamarind
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
Put the peanut butter into a small mixing bowl and gradually stir in the coconut milk, tamarind and curry paste to make a smooth cream. Transfer the sauce to a small serving bowl to serve.
Soured cream and herb sauce
This sauce is served cold, but can accompany both hot and cold dishes.
MAKES 275ML (10FL OZ)
150ml (5fl oz) soured cream
150ml (5fl oz) natural yoghurt
2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, (e.g.flat-leaf parsley, chives, tarragon, thyme)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Simply mix everything together and season to taste.
VARIATION
Horseradish sauce
Make as described, leaving out the herbs and flavouring with 2–3 teaspoons of grated horseradish and 1–2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar. This is even nicer if you add a little mayonnaise, or replace 2 tablespoons of the yoghurt with 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise. This is wonderful with walnut pâté en croûte (#litres_trial_promo).
Tartare sauce
This tangy sauce can be made in moments and is a great way of livening up anything from lentil croquettes (#litres_trial_promo) to grilled polenta (#litres_trial_promo) or cheese fritters (#litres_trial_promo).
SERVES 2–4
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1–15 tbsp small capers, rinsed
1–1½ tbsp small gherkins, drained and chopped
1 tsp finely chopped onion
1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
a few drops of Tabasco sauce
Just put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together. Keep in a covered container in the fridge until required.
VARIATION
Vegan tartare sauce v
This is delicious made with a good vegan mayonnaise; I like the egg-free one with garlic that is widely available in health-food shops.
Tomato sauce v
This sauce really couldn’t be easier and is one of my standbys. I find it best not to let the tomatoes cook for very long this way the sauce has a much fresher flavour. It’s worth buying good-quality canned tomatoes because they have a much richer flavour and produce a better sauce.
SERVES 4–6
1 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
