Back to Basics Sauces & Stocks...

Basic Tomato Sauce

2 cans of tomatoes

OR

12 medium ripe tomatoes skinned

3 cloves of garlic chopped finely

1 medium red onion finely chopped

1 cup of red or white wine or veggie stock

1 teaspoon of sugar (optional taste)

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

Heat a little oil in a non stick pan, add the onion & garlic, cook over medium heat until the onion is soft, add the wine or stock and simmer under reduced, pop in the tomatoes, simmer uncovered for 20 mins or until it begins to thicken.

Season with salt & pepper, taste and if a little bitter add the teaspoon of sugar.

This sauce can be made in advance and stored, covered in the fridge for 1 week, it is also suitable for freezing.

Variations on this basic sauce are endless...

·         Chilli Tomato Sauce, chop 1 red chilli and cook with the onion & garlic

·         Tomato & Basil Sauce, tear 1 handful of fresh basil leaves, add half the basil leaves with the tomatoes and reserve the remainder until the seasoning stage.

·         Tomato & Red Pepper, Grill 2 red peppers, remove their skin and chop finely add the peppers at the tomato stage.

·         Creamy Tomato, add 3 tbls of fresh cream when the sauce has been simmering for 10 mins, continue to simmer for a further 15 mins or until the sauce has thickened.  Add some fresh basil leaves for a great taste.

·         Provencal Tomato Sauce, 1 handful of chopped black olives, 1 handful of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley.  Add the black olives and  flat leaf parsley when the sauce has been simmering for 10 mins.

·         Pizza Sauce, add another 3 cloves of garlic and 1 tbls of tomato paste, continue to cook until sauce has thickened to a paste like consistency.

Basic Red Wine Sauce

30g butter

3 shallots finely chopped

1 clove of garlic finely chopped

1 ½ tbls of plain flour

1 cup of beef stock

1/3 cup 80ml of red wine

1 sprig of thyme (optional)

Melt butter in a non stick saucepan, add the shallots and garlic, cook until shallots are soft.  Stir in flour for 1 min and then add the wine and stock.  Stir over heat until sauce thickens.  Pop through a strainer if you would like a smooth sauce. 

Classic Beurre Blanc

2 shallotts, finely chopped

2 tbls of fish or veggie stock

2 tbls of white wine vinegar

¼ cup of dry white wine

250g cold butter chopped

Boil the shallots, stock , vinegar and wine in a small pan until reduced to 2 tbls.  Strain and reserve the liquid.  Return liquid to the pan, Whisk in the butter cube by cube over a low heat, until the sauce has thickened.

Here is another novel way to make this sauce, pour some boiling water into a Thermos flask to preheat and clean it. Pour the water away and then sieve the flavoured wine into the thermos, adding all of the butter. Put the lid on tightly, place a tea towel over the lid and shake the thermos around for a few minutes. Open it very carefully (in case of any hot steam escaping) and you should have a nice beurre blanc sauce. The best thing about this method is that you can keep it in the flask and it will keep warm until you’re ready to serve the food.

Stocks are really easy and cheap to make to make you just need a little time!   They are the flavour base that make sauces, soups, casseroles & risottos taste fantastic!

Veggie Stock

1 large carrot, chopped

1 large parsnip, chopped

2 medium onions chopped

6 sticks of celery chopped

1 bunch of mixed herbs

1 tablespoon of black peppercorns

3 litres (about 12 cups) of water

Pop all of the above ingredients into a large saucepan, simmer, uncovered for 1 ½ hours, strain through a large colander. Discard the veggies and leave liquid to cool before popping into the fridge or containers in the freezer.

Chicken Stock

2kg chicken bones

2 medium onions, chopped

2 sticks of celery chopped

2 medium carrots chopped

1 bunch of mixed herbs

2 teasp of black peppercorns

5 litres of water

Pop all of the ingredients into a large saucepan, simmer uncovered for 2 hours, strain through a large colander, and discard the chicken bones and veggies.  Leave liquid to cool and store for 1 week in the fridge or in containers in the freezer.