I get tired of my own cooking sometimes.
At those times, even the crispy, salty, lemony roasted chicken I just pulled out of the oven seems boring. The pan-seared grass-fed skirt steak looks unfinished and slightly unappetizing. My vegetables taste too vegetable-y.
My meal needs just a ‘little something’ to make it taste lighter, brighter, and fancier.
I’ve discovered that ‘little something’ is sauce.
Salsa, chimichurri, relish, dressing, aioli, gravy, reduction, pesto, coulis, jus…
Whatever you want to call it, a drizzle or dollop of something most often makes a meal or a snack Twice As Good.
I’ve been exploring the world of sauces lately through the pages of eCookbooks. Right now, I’m drooling over Bryant Terry’s Vegetable Kingdom, Alison Roman’s Nothing Fancy, and Mareya Ibrahim’s Eat Like You Give a Fork.
Sauces can give you new cultural and culinary perspectives. And they take your food to the next level.
Sauces don’t have to be complicated. In fact, all my favorites are very uncomplicated.
So, go on, bring the sauce to your next kitchen adventure! Here are my go-tos for you to try.
Pesto
I know ‘pesto’ sounds hard, but it’s not. Cleaning the food processor or blender is the hardest part. And, if you don’t want to use an appliance, just use your knife skills—smash, chop, and smear everything together for an even simpler, more rustic pesto.
Toss your pasta in this, spread it on a grilled cheese sandwich, dress some warm roasted beets with it. And, um, maybe even eat it out of the jar.
You can use any green herb or hearty green (kale, arugula, spinach).
- Toss two handfuls of nuts, two medium-sized cloves of garlic, and a teaspoon of salt in the food processor or blender. You can use walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds. Pulse only until nuts and garlic are chopped.
- Add two big handfuls of something green, the juice of 1 lemon, 1/4 cup of olive oil. Blend, scraping down the bowl every once an a while, until everything is combined and on the creamy side.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. I always end up adding more lemon juice. You might need to add a little more olive oil, depending on what type of nut/seed you are using.
Chimichurri/Salsa verde
You don’t need a food processor for this, but you can use one if you want to. Just don’t whiz it for too long, because the greens can get slimy. Drizzle this on eggs, grilled meats and fish…anything, really!
- Finely chop two handfuls of herbs. A parsley and cilantro combination is classic, but I’ve thrown in dandelion greens, basil, and mint.
- Grate or chop a clove of garlic or shallot. I use a microplane grater. Put the garlic and the greens in a jar or small bowl.
- Add 1/2 cup of your oil of choice, the juice of one lemon, two dashes of apple cider vinegar, and a teaspoon of salt. Shake or whisk vigorously.
Mayonnaise/Aioli
Use a stick blender (aka immersion blender) for this recipe. You could use a blender but I think this is the easiest method. You’ll want to dip everything in this. A chicken salad sandwich is a fine way to use this sauce. Mix in some curry powder, pesto, hot sauce, or garlic for extra deliciousness.
- Crack an egg into a widemouth jar.
- Add 1 cup of neutral oil (sunflower, canola, etc.), a tablespoon of lemon juice, a 1/2 teaspoon of mustard, a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a dash of white pepper.
- Position your stick blender in the jar so that it’s touching the bottom. Flip it to high speed. Start blending. You’ll see your mayo start to emulsify (get thick) at the bottom.
- Move the stick slowly upwards, to incorporate the oil, until you’re at the top and all the oil is whipped in. You should have a nice, thick, rich mayo. Check out this Serious Eats video if you want a demo.
Ranch dressing
It’s insanely easy to make refreshing ranch dressing and dip! I guarantee your friends will ask how you made this. It tastes good even if you leave out one of the creamy components. Don’t forget to add a squeeze of lemon or two!
Put the following in a bowl or wide-mouth jar and mix:
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 yogurt or buttermilk
- grated clove of garlic
- 5 pinches of chopped fresh or dried herbs. Dill, thyme, parsley, chives, and rosemary are my favorites, but you can use whatever you have on hand
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of cracked black pepper
- Sprinkle of white pepper
- Two squeezes of lemon
Sesame-soy dressing
This has that Chinese-chicken-salad-from-a-restaurant flavor. I turn to this dressing when I get tired of regular vinaigrette. It’s good as a marinade, too.
Shake or whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil (any other oil will do here, too), two glugs of toasted sesame oil, three glugs of rice vinegar (apple cider vinegar works, too), and three glugs of soy sauce/shoyu/tamari. Add sesame seeds if you have them.
Nuoc Cham
This classic Vietnamese dipping sauce wins as a drizzle on cold noodles, grated veggies, or over grilled meats. I used to work at a modern Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco called the Slanted Door, where this sauce was served with just about everything.
- Shake or whisk together the juice of two or three limes, 1/4 cup of warm water, and a tablespoon of sugar until it’s mostly dissolved.
- Mix in two tablespoons of fish sauce. Taste.
- Add more water or lime juice as needed. Grate in some garlic and add some chopped chilis if you’re feeling spicy.
Classic vinaigrette
An everyday staple for tangy salads. You could add salt and pepper to the dressing, but I just add the salt and pepper directly to my salads.
Whisk together:
- 1/2 cup of olive oil (or oil of your choice)
- 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar (red wine vinegar is a classic, too)
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard
- Grated garlic (optional)
Easy marinara sauce
One of the best ways to eat summer tomatoes. Pizza, pasta, grilled cheese sandwich dipping…So good!
- Pour about 4 big glugs of olive oil in a skillet. A cast iron skillet works well for this. Heat at medium high.
- Add enough chopped tomatoes or cherry tomatoes to cover the bottom of the skillet and then add a couple handfuls more.
- Let your tomatoes pop and burst and get juicy. Turn down the heat to medium. Stir and smash them.
- Add five pinches of herbs. I like any combo of oregano, thyme, basil, sage, rosemary. Grate a clove of garlic into your sauce.
- Things will start to smell really good. Add a few pinches of salt and maybe some white pepper. Keep stirring until everything’s broken down and saucy, and the skins are getting translucent.
- You’re done. At this point, you can serve as is, or you can blend it down into a smoother sauce.
Time to edit your next meal!
Think you want to bring the sauce? Try these ideas:
- Treat your family—or yourself—to veggies and ranch dip instead of a salad
- Make big batches of marinara sauce this summer and freeze the extras in jars (don’t forget to leave 1″ of space at the top when you fill the jar) or Ziplock bags for later this winter
- Use your mayo for frying breaded stuff: coat a chicken breast or veggies in mayo, then dip in breadcrumbs and fry. So easy!!
- Add a sauce to any of the easy weeknight recipes here.
Happy editing!
Erica
