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Lucretia B's International Cookbook Lucretia B's Amazing International Cookbook

Sauces, spreads and dips (hot and cold)





Tzatziki - Greek Yogurt and cucumber relish

Lucretia B

Ingredients
1 cup greek yogurt
1 green cucumber
1 clove garlic
2 tbs olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Method
Peel and grate (or chop up) the cucumber and garlic clove. Place in a plastic mesh colander. Sprinkle with salt and let it drain for half an hour or so.
Shake the colander well and add the contents to the yogurt. Taste for salt, add olive oil and pepper, mix and serve.
Keep leftovers in the fridge. It keeps up to a couple of weeks.
Variations:
Since one of my kids hate cucumbers, I developed a few personal variations of the basic mixture of yogurt, garlic, oil, salt and pepper.
Depending on the day and the mood of the kid, I either increase the garlic to 2 or 3 cloves or leave it out completely, and add one or a mixture of the following:
  • chives (fresh or dried)
  • spring onions
  • yellow and brown mustard (whole, NOT ground!)
  • mashed avocado
  • young zucchini, grated
  • pickled cucumbers, sliced or grated

Baba ghanoush (or ghannouj, ghanouj, ghanooge) - Eggplant (aubergine) relish

Thanks: Giulia Settimo, Italy [ giulia.settimo --at-- iol.it ]

Ingredients
1 large eggplant or several lebanese aubergines
olive oil
1 clove garlic, grated
salt
freshly ground black pepper
lemon juice
cummin seeds, crushed (optional)
Method
Wrap the eggplant in aluminium foil and cook in a slow oven for an hour, or until tender. Cut the eggplant in half and scoop out the pulp.
Place the eggplant pulp in a bowl, add oil, salt, pepper and mix well. Just before serving, add lemon juice to taste.

It keeps in the fridge for several days (without lemon juice!); or, leaving pepper and lemon juice out, you can prepare a large quantity of this relish in advance, divide it up in glass jars and boil the jars for 20 minutes. This way, it keeps virtually forever.
Variation:
Add the mashed eggplant to a cup of greek yogurt and season as above, leaving out the lemon.

Hummous- Chickpea and sesame relish

Lucretia B

Ingredients
Chickpea base:
3 cups dried chickpeas
1 ts sodium bicarbonate
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery (including the leaves)
1 to 3 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 twig of rosemary (wrapped up in white thread)
Seasoning:
olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
tahini
lemon juice
cummin seeds, crushed (optional)
Method
When using dried chickpeas, it's always worth making a largish amount, then dividing it up in glass jars and sterilize the jars for 30 minutes.
Of course, a quicker way of arranging hummous is to use tinned chickpeas, but I personally find it less tasty.

Dissolve a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in a glass of hot water and add it to a large bowl containing the chickpeas and at least 3 litres cold water. Cover with lid and leave the chickpeas to soak for 24 hours at least.
Rinse under lukewarm water and add to a large stockpot containing the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaf and rosemary and 3 litres of lukewarm water. Bring to the boil on very low heat and simmer until the chickpeas are tender (it might take up to 3 hours).
Drain the chickpeas and mash with a potato masher while still hot, adding a little bit of their stock to obtain a smooth mashed potato consistency.
Fill the jars with mash leaving a couple cm (1 inch) at the top, seal with lid and sterilize.
The leftover stock and veggies, as well as any leftover mash, make a very nice soup.

Just before serving, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt, a generous sprinkle of pepper, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and a couple tablespoons of tahini to a cup of mashed chickpeas and mix well.

The preserved chickpea mash also makes a nice base for soups.

Mustard Sauce for Corned Beef

Thanks: Althea Oliver, Victoria, AUS

Ingredients
1/2 tb butter
1/2 tb flour
1 ts mustard powder
1 cup water that the meat has cooked in, cooled slightly
1/2 cup vinegar
Method
Melt butter in a small saucepan, stir in flour and mustard, and cook over medium heat for a minute or so. Remove from the heat, add water gradually while stirring. Return to heat and bring to the boil. If too thick, you can add more water. Add vinegar and serve hot over the corned beef.

Italian Pepper Sauce

Lucretia B

Ingredients
2 tb marrow (usually taken from the leg bone of a calf)
2 tb breadcrumbs
1 to 3 ts ground white pepper
freshly ground black pepper
3 cups beef broth
salt
Method
Bring the broth (which ought to be from corned beef, tongue or other boiled red meats) to a boil.
In a small crock (or heavy-bottomed saucepan), melt the marrow over low heat. Stir in the breadcrumbs and cook until perfectly dried and slightly roasted. Remove from the heat, add 1 ts white pepper and half a cup of hot broth, stirring well. Caution: if the pan is too hot, the liquid might sprinkle and burn you!
Bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat and keep the sauce at a gentle simmer, stirring frequently and adding more broth (and white pepper to taste) as the sauce thickens. Cook for at least 1 1/2 hours, until the breadcrumbs are completely dissolved and the sauce thick and creamy.
Taste for salt and add some freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot with boiled meats (lesso or bollito - see recipe) or tongue (see recipe).

Sauce Tartare

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 tb pickled gherkins, finely chopped
1 tb capers, finely chopped
2 tb parsley, finely chopped
1 ts Dijon or English mustard
1 - 1 1/2 cups olive oil
2 tb vinegar
salt to taste
pinch of pepper
Method
Place vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard and capers in a blender or food processor. Pulse to mix, then add the remaining ingredients, saving half of the oil. Process adding the oil little by little, until the sauce is smooth.
Serve with fondue bourguignonne, boiled fish, crustaceans, beef tartare, meatloaves, boiled beef or veal, boiled chicken or turkey, poached eggs, salads or as a dip.

Sauce Remoulade

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
1 tb anchovy paste (or 3 salted anchovy fillets)
1 pickled gherkin, finely chopped
1 tb capers, finely chopped
1 tb parsley, finely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
Method
Place anchovy paste, gherkin, capers, and parsley in a bowl. Mix well, adding mayonnaise little by little.
Serve with fondue bourguignonne, eggs, cold meat, boiled fish or as a dip.

Sauce Roquefort

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
2 oz Roquefort (or Danish Blue) cheese
4 oz cream cheese
4 oz fresh button mushrooms, cleaned
1 tb chives, finely chopped
2 tbs dry gin
the juice of 1/2 lemon
salt
1 pinch white pepper
Method
In a blender or food processor, mix cheeses until soft. Add the mushrooms and process until they are chopped. Pour the sauce into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, mixing well.
Serve with raw or boiled vegetables, rice, hard-boiled eggs, or as a dip.

Yogurt Mayonnaise

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
1 red onion
2 pickled gherkins
5 oz yogurt
1/2 ts curry powder
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
Method
Finely slice the onion, sprinkle with salt and place it in a colander. After a couple of hours, rinse the onion under running water. Drain and finely chop the onion with the gherkins and hard-boiled eggs.
Place the mayonnaise in a bowl. Carefully add curry, yogurt and the chopped mixture.
Serve with cold meat, fish, meatloaves, salads, or as a dip.

Orange Mayonnaise

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
1 orange
2 oz peeled walnuts, finely ground
1/2 cup fresh cream
1 tb brandy
pinch of sugar
1 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Wash the orange. Whip the cream and place it in the refrigerator.
Grate the orange zest and place it in a bowl, with the orange juice (filtered through a colander). Add salt, pepper, brandy, and sugar and mix well. Add the mayonnaise a little bit at a time, mixing well. Carefully fold in the whipped cream and walnuts, finely ground.
Serve with fondue bourguignonne, cold meat, meatloaves, potato salad, or as a dip.

Walnuts and Green Pepper Sauce

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
2 oz cream cheese
1 tb pickled green pepper
3 tb walnuts, shelled
salt
extra virgin olive oil
a few drops Worcester Sauce
Method
Place in a blender or food processor walnuts and pepper. While processing, add the other ingredients and enough olive oil for a smooth and creamy texture.
Serve with fondue bourguignonne, roasts (including chicken, turkey, venison), meatloaves, cheese.

Pink, Pinky, Pinkish Sauce

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
4 oz cream cheese
2 tb Ketchup
1/2 tb tomato paste
a few drops of Angostura and Worcester Sauce
salt to taste
Method
Place all the ingredients in a bowl, beating with a fork until blended and creamy.
Serve with fondue bourguignonne, all sorts of meat, meatloaves, or as a dip or spread.

bagnèt verd: green parsley sauce

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
2 cups fresh parsley leaves, washed and patted dry
1 to 2 tb capers
1 to 3 pickled gherkins
1 hard-boiled egg
1 tb breadcrumbs
1 or 2 tb vinegar
garlic (1 to 10 cloves, according to size and taste)
1 to 3 tb anchovy paste (or 3 to 9 anchovy fillets)
extra virgin olive oil
1 ts mustard powder (optional) or 1 pinch hot paprika (optional)
salt to taste
Method
Place breadcrumbs, vinegar, parsley, egg and 1/4 cup olive oil in a blender or food processor. While processing, add the other ingredients, a little at a time. Process until the sauce is smooth and creamy, adding some more oil and salt if needed.
Serve with fondue bourguignonne, "lesso" (Italian-style boiled meats), roasts, meatloaves, potatoes. In Piedmont (Italy) it's mainly used as a marinade for anchovy fillets and grilled capsicums (bell peppers).

Yogurt and... Fancy Sauce

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
5 oz yogurt
2 garlic cloves
1 carrot
thyme, or chives, or mint, or mixed herbs
2 to 4 tb extra virgin olive oil
salt
raw vegetables (capsicum, cucumber, celery, onion, fennel or others, according to taste)
Method
Finely chop carrot, garlic, herbs and any other vegetables you like. Add yogurt, oil and salt to taste.
Serve with salads, tomatoes, "niçoise", cold meatloaves, rice salads, potatoes, "lesso" (Italian-style boiled meats). Also try it with bruschetta, or as a dip.

Hot Sweet &Sour Caponata Sauce

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 onion
1 carrot
2 celery stalks, leaves included
1 eggplant
2 garlic cloves
3 tb vinegar
2 plum or Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tb tomato paste
salt to taste
2 ts sugar
3 chili peppers, ground
1 capsicum (bell pepper), yellow
1 capsicum (bell pepper), red
1 capsicum (bell pepper), green
Method
Wash and clean the vegetables. Roughly chop onion, celery, garlic, eggplant, and carrot. Place the chopped vegetables in a saucepan with the oil and cook over medium heat until light brown. Pour in the vinegar, cook for another couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes and tomato paste. Adjust salt and pepper, add chili and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
In the meantime, chop up the capsicums. Add the chopped capsicums and cook for another 10 minutes (no longer).
Serve hot or cold with fondue bourguignonne, beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, rice, salads, meatloaves, or as a dip. Hot Sweet &Sour Caponata Sauce can also be canned.

Celery Mayonnaise

Thanks: My Sister Silvia

Ingredients
1 egg, whole
1/2 to 3/4 cup peanuts, canola or corn oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 ts salt
4 - 5 celery stalks, leaves included
Method
All the ingredients must be at room temperature.
Place in a blender or food processor (in this order): egg, salt, lemon and 1/3 of the oil. While processing, very gradually add the remaining oil, a little at a time.
Finely chop the celery separately, and add it to the mayonnaise.
Serve with fondue bourguignonne, fish, cold meat, salads, vegetables, rice salad, or as a dip.

Last updated 28 jun 2011

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