Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Sauces of a Different Kind

I love sauces. Especially cream sauces. Richard at Free the Animal has some great recipes and directions on how to make some very nice sauces.
I keep mine pretty easy. Just add some heavy cream and at times a splash of wine and suddenly your ground lamb or beef tastes magical.
No did I mention I love sauces? Here's something that might surprise you to be labeled as sauce, but give it a try. I think you will be amazed and you will have tried something new. You will also have a new platform to work off, that you can make your own. The possibilities are endless.
What is this you ask?

Grilled veggie sauce with tehina over a burger.
Grab your trusted cast iron skillet or grill. Take some zucchini, tomato, onion and garlic. I also added a dried pepper. Toss all of it with a drizzle of evoo,sea salt and fresh ground pepper. When done grilling transfer to your foodprocessor and add 1 large tablespoon of tehina. The 1 tbsp. is in relation to the amount of veggies you see. If you make more veggies you will probably need to add some tehina. But give it the taste test as you make it. Like my grandma used to tell me in the kitchen "you can always add more, but you can't take away". With the grill pan still hot I put in a small patty of grass fed ground beef with a little diced red onion mixed in. I could have had 4 plates full. This is one tasty little dinner.
Want more traditional?
Here a simple lunch from the other day.
In butter, saute some onion and mushroom. Add ground lamb. Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. When close to desired doneness, add a generous splash of heavy cream. Stir and let thicken. Enjoy. Celery and scallion for crunch, tomato and 2 slices of salami.


Do you have a non-traditional sauce you can share? Or any sauce for that matter ;-)

4 comments:

Anna said...

I loooovvvvvvve sauces, too, Marc.

Coconut milk-based curry sauces, brown butter sauce with hazelnuts or walnuts, Thai peanut sauce (though I make it with almond or hazelnut butter sometimes and wheat-free traditionally aged tamari), meat juice reduction pan sauces, etc. are all regulars in my house.

I'm avoiding traditional French sauces at restaurants because of the gluten in the flour they typically use for thickening, but at home I've made reasonable versions of gravy and Bearnaise/Veloute/Bechamel-type sauces thickened with quinoa or coconut flour (the other day I made a gluten-free version of enchilada sauce that was pretty good, too). Of course, living in a major avocado growing country, we often make avocado dressing/sauce and guacamole, as well as its natural pair, salsa (many variations, including with fruit).

When I was a kid, I looved and learned to make Hollandaise sauce to pair with steamed artichokes and I still make it, or else I simply combine freshly squeezed lemon juice with melted butter.

Oh yes, I also like to make condiment sauces with homemade mayonnaise as a base (aioli, lemon/caper sauce, tartar sauce, tahini sauce, and salad dressing). I also make ketchup, BBQ sauce, sour-cream horseradish sauce (sometimes with finely chopped bacon bits!), and I'm working on making a good mustard (the first two versions were too hot and plain for my taste). I also love Greek/Middle Eastern Tzatziki sauce and other variations that use a naturally probiotic-rich whole milk or cream yogurt base. If I don't have fresh mint, I cut open a mint tea bag or two and add it. Great way to use up the copious cukes in my summer CSA boxes.

Can't forget classic pesto, clam sauce, and Alfredo sauce, either. Bolognese sauce is nice on steamed cauliflower florets or zucchini "linguini" shavings, so pasta isn't required.

And for special occasions (not regular consumption) there are dessert sauces, including homemade "hard sauce" made with less sugar and more butter. Zabaglione sauce is also rich with egg yolks and can be made with less sugar. Fruit coulis can also be made unsweetened or only slightly sweetened. Custard sauce is easy to vary with liquors. Basic chocolate ganache (dark chocolate, heavy cream, & butter in varying proportions can be made into a nice versatile low sugar rich chocolate sauce, served cool or warm. I don't make homemade caramel sauce anymore, but I used to; too much sugar for me now, even in small rare quantities.

It's amazing how inexpensive and fast many of these sauces are to make at home with well stocked pantry of real food ingredients, a freezer stocked with homemade stock, a handheld stick blender or a whisk, and a little practice. I can skip the salad dressing and bottled sauce aisles now. I also don't bother with the 60s and 70s shortcuts that call for Lipton Onion Soup mix or Campbell's condensed soups, etc.

Did I say I loved sauces? ;-) Who says eating low carb in a paleo-inspired way has to be monotonous and boring?

Marc said...

Anna,
What a great tip on using the mint tea bag!!!! I never would have thought off that!

Happy thanks giving to you and your loved ones.!!!!

Marc

FatBurningFurnace said...

Hi Marc, you seem a good cook! Thank you.

help writing essay said...

as always - great recipe, great tips and advices for cooking! thank you