Making a white sauce fills many people with dread, if you are one of these people, your quest has ended, below is THE simplest recipe for a fantastic white sauce and best of all it WORKS!!

These things are always easier with a few tricks and tips up your sleeve! And this simple sauce will open up an avalanche of new recipes and ideas, you’ll wonder however you got by without it!

A good white sauce can have so many uses and I always use a good chicken stock with some milk and real butter as it adds a depth of flavour that just makes the sauce.
What You Will Need
For a Pouring Sauce
15g or ½ oz or 1 Tbsp Butter
15g or ½ oz or 2 Tbsp Plain White Flour
300ml or ½ pint Milk (this can be skimmed, low fat or full)

** Substitute chicken stock or a mix of milk and stock

For a Thicker Coating Sauce
25g or 1oz or 2tbsp Butter
25g or 1oz or ½ pint Milk or 1¼ cups Milk

What To Do
Warm the milk gently, don’t let it boil, then pour this into a jug, then use the same sauce pan and melt the butter gently then add the flour and give it a good stir with a wooden spoon or if you have a non stick hand whisk use this.

Take the pan off the heat and stir for 1 – 2 minutes cooking the flour mixture. This mixture is called a roux and can be used as a base for all kinds of sauces. When the roux is smooth and has changed colour to a whitish hue it is ready for the chicken stock or milk.

Add half the milk slowly, the secret with white sauce is to keep stirring or whisking in a continuous motion get the spoon/whisk into the ‘corners’ of the pan to incorporate all the milk. The corners is where the sides meet the bottom of the pan and it’s a devil to coax the roux out or these.

When you have added half the milk, return the pan to a low/medium heat. Now this is where a lot of people go askew. So I have some ‘rules’:

• Don’t let the sauce heat up too quickly as this will burn the roux mixture left on the bottom of the pan.

• KEEP stirring or whisking, do a grid like pattern and then really get into the corners and change direction to stop you getting bored!!
• Don’t add all the milk at once, it may be too much, depending upon the thickness you like.

When the sauce begins to thicken add some more milk and then let it begin to thicken again and add some more, repeat this until the sauce is the desired thickness. You may have left over milk, you may need to add a bit more, it just depends upon your thickness preference, usually for a pouring sauce it should coat the back of the spoon.

My White Sauce Tips

• For a thicker sauce add a little more flour at the roux stage

• Try and use a non stick pan

• Keep removing the pan from the heat if the sauce is ‘going’ to fast. sometime the sauce can begin to thicken really quickly, other time it seems to take forever, but one thing is certain when it does start to thicken it can turn to custard is you take your eyes off it for even a second!!

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Definitely worth making your own…

Ingredients:

1 large onion roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
4 cups of Ketchup
1/2 cup of white Vinegar
1/8 cup of Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup of Brown sugar
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Salt
1/4 small can of Tomato paste
1/4 cup of whiskey – use a good whiskey, it will make the difference

Directions:

Saute onion, garlic and whiskey until the onions are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and boil for a couple of minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes, stirring frequently. Sauce can be served as is or strained.

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Chipotle & Sundried Tomato Salsa.

I shared a flat in London with a Sri Lankan Guy, he was an amazing cook, as his home cuisine is based upon fresh chillies & their heat, I was treated to an fabulous aray of eyewatering dishes, many of which I still cook today..

Please do not make the mistake of over using chillies, their heat takes some getting used to & many a dish is spoiled by making it too hot to eat..

See the glossary page for the run down on the amazing chipotle & the web site page for stockists.

What you will need:

1-2 Dried Chipotle Chillies.
8 Whole Sundried Tomatoes.
2 Slices of Pineapple.
2 Red Capsicum.
1 cup Rocket.
3 Tbsp Palm Sugar or Brown Sugar.
½ tsp Salt.
3 Tbsp Olive Oil.

What to do:

        ï‚·        Soak the chillies & sundried tomatoes until soft.

        ï‚·        Put everything in a mortar & pestle or processor, mix until smooth.

** Keep in the refrigerator overnight to infuse flavours**

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Fresh capers are tiny buds of the Capparis Spinosa native to the barren areas of the Mediterranean, they have been used in cooking since ancient times.

Fresh Capers have a distinctly subtle flavour, they are well worth hunting down, often found in the deli section of your supermarket, choose plump, vibrant green ones, steer clear of the ones which are dull.

What you will need:

1 tub Crëme Fraishe.
12 Fresh or 4 tsp Fresh Capers, rinsed.
Seasoning.

What to do:

Could’nt be any more simple than, draining the capers and mixing all gently together. Then season to taste.

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I shared a flat in London with a Sri Lankan Guy, he was an amazing cook, as his home cuisine is based upon fresh chillies & their heat, I was treated to a fabulous array of eye watering dishes, many of which I still cook today..

Please do not make the mistake of over using chillies, their heat takes some getting used to & many a dish is spoiled by making it too hot to eat..

What you will need:

1-2 Dried Chipotle Chillies.
8 Whole Sundried Tomatoes.
2 Slices of Pineapple.
2 Red Capsicum.
1 cup Rocket.
3 Tbsp Palm Sugar or Brown Sugar.
½ tsp Salt.
3 Tbsp Olive Oil.

What to do:

Soak the chillies & sundried tomatoes until soft.

Put everything in a mortar & pestle or processor, mix until smooth.

** Keep in the refrigerator overnight to infuse flavours **

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This creamy delight of a sauce is what you go to the  café for on that lazy Sunday brunch, GO on try it for yourself.. it’s worth it..

What you will need:

½ Cup Vinegar
2Tbsp Water
2 Shallots
4 Egg Yolks
400g Butter, softened

What to do:

Simmer the vinegar, water & shallots in a small saucepan, until reduced by a third.

Have a clean bowl set on a pan over simmering water, DONOT have the water boiling rapidly or you will end up with scrambled eggs. If however you feel this may be happening add a Tbsp of cold water or a small piece of an ice cube, this helps cool the mixture.

Mix the egg yolks and strained vinegar mixture, gentle with a whisk.

Gradually whisk in small pieces of butter, you can melt the butter first and slowly pour it into the mix.

Whisk as if your life depended upon it until the sauce thickens.

Season to taste & Serve over poached eggs or as a side dressing.

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A great tangy pesto, just sets off the plainness of the noodles.

Serve with fried tofu, firm white fish or chicken strips.

What you will need:

¾ cup Peanuts, roasted.
2 Garlic Cloves.
1 inch Ginger.
2 Chillies.
1 cup Mint.
1 cup Coriander.
1 cup Basil.
½ cup Peanut Oil.
Zest of one Orange & Lemon.
2 tsp Sesame Oil.
Seasoning.

What to do:

Would you believe you just process everything together to a smooth paste toss through hot noodles & eat…

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An Introduction to Accompanying Sauces

I AM the lucky one, I live in a country that has an abundance of fresh produce.

Here, in New Zealand, we are surrounded by the sea on all sides, from which we have an array of fish & shellfish readily available.
We are also known for our ‘sheep’ which, as part of our culture, regularly adorns our tables usually in the form of BBQ’d versions.

This form of cooking is definitely THE male domain here, and fiercely guarded by them!! Yes, what you have been told is true, a huddle of men can be found at a  party, standing with drink in hand around the BBQ!

We also have assess to beef, pork and wild fowl.

We are also blessed with a climate that allows all kinds of fruits, vegetables & nuts to grow.

And soon I will have a garden full of all the vegetables you could imagine surrounded by nut & fruit trees, all Heirloom & Heritage varieties.

These are the original varieties, not the hybrid species masquerading as vegetables in the supermarkets & shops, you know the ones you buy weekly, the ones that the next day look like soggy socks on a bad day.

So you see I REALLY am the lucky one. I don’t actually eat that much meat, but, fresh fish more than makes up for this..that’s when my neighbour actually catches some..hehe!!

Anyway, the reason I’m telling you all this, is this array of produce lends itself really well to accompanying sauces, the finger licking, mouth watering variety of which there are many, as you will soon see.

ENJOY!!

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