Everyday Saucy Sauces.....

To add a bit flavour to our food we use different kinds of sauces. Apart from everyday tomato sauce or ketch up, there are many other sauces we ought to know and they are easy to make at home too. There are typically 5 mother sauces in culinary art. They are white sauce Béchamel, the light stock-based Velouté, the brown stock-based Espagnole; the two basic emulsified sauces, Hollandaise and Mayonnaise; and the oil and vinegar-based Vinaigrette. Always remember that when a sauce is used on a food, it is the first thing to touch the tongue. A sauce is only as good as the ingredients you put into it and the care you take while preparing it. On the other hand, a good sauce does little to make inferior food taste better. Always put a good sauce on good food. Thankfully, we no longer use sauce to mask "off-tasting food" as was once the practice in times before modern refrigeration! 

 Sauces can be also divided as spicy sauces and sweet sauces. Soy sauce, fish sauce and oyster sauce are usually used in Chinese and Thai cuisines. Tomato sauce is basically for Italian. Other than these there are chocolate sauces, different kinds of fruit based sauces. So here are some of the sauce recipes we found.

White Sauce

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

Method

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. 
2. Add flour and stir until the butter and flour are well combined. 
3. Pour in milk, stirring constantly as it thickens. Add more milk depending on desired consistency.

Spinach Basil Pesto

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Method

1. Blend the spinach, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor until nearly smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary. 
2. Drizzle the remaining olive oil into the mixture while processing until smooth.

Chocolate Syrup

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup cocoa powder

1 dash salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Combine the water, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together in a saucepan over low heat; whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and begins to simmer. 
2. Remove from heat and stir the vanilla into the sauce. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate until serving.

BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup taco sauce

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon dry hot mustard

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 dash hot pepper sauce

Method

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together taco sauce, white sugar, molasses, vegetable oil, cider vinegar, soy sauce, dry hot mustard, dried oregano and hot pepper sauce. Chill covered in the refrigerator until ready for use.

Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup butter

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon shallots, minced

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup red wine

2 cups beef broth

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. In a medium saute pan, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms; cook and stir until soft. Remove mushrooms from pan, and set aside.
2. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan, and melt . Add shallots; cook and stir until translucent. Add mushrooms, and cook until soft. Add thyme, bay leaf, and red wine. Reduce.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve arrowroot in 1/4 cup cold beef broth. Stir remaining broth into sauce, and bring to a boil. Whisk in arrowroot mixture, and stir until thick. Add reserved mushrooms. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and salt.

Spicy Orange Chicken Wing Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup orange marmalade

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons Asian chile pepper sauce

Method

1. Stir the orange marmalade, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and chili sauce together in a saucepan until combined. Place over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

10 ripe tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 cup Burgundy wine

1 bay leaf

2 stalks celery

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Method

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Plunge whole tomatoes in boiling water until skin starts to peel, 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then remove peel and squeeze out seeds. Chop 8 tomatoes and puree in blender or food processor. Chop remaining two tomatoes and set aside.
2. In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic in oil and butter until onion starts to soften, 5 minutes. Pour in pureed tomatoes. Stir in chopped tomato, basil, Italian seasoning and wine. 
3. Place bay leaf and whole celery stalks in pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir in tomato paste and simmer an additional 2 hours. Discard bay leaf and celery and serve.

Four Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded provolone cheese

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

Method

1. In a medium saucepan combine whipping cream and butter. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until butter melts. Gradually stir in grated Parmesan cheese, grated mozzarella cheese, grated provolone cheese, and grated Romano cheese. Reduce heat to low, and continue to stir just until all cheese is melted.
2. Serve immediately, sauce will thicken upon standing.

Marinara with White Wine

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil from anchovies

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup white wine

1 1/2 pounds grape tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with juice

6 anchovy fillets

1/2 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 small bay leaf

Method

1. Heat the anchovy oil in a saucepan over medium heat, stir in garlic, onions, and green pepper; cook for a few minutes until the onion softens and turns translucent. Pour in the wine, and simmer until reduced by half. Meanwhile, place the grape tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, and anchovies into the bowl of a blender; puree until smooth.
2. Season with salt, pepper, basil, parsley, oregano, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

Recipes courtesy of Allrecipes.com 

If You Like This Kindly Share it