Choose a colour, make a sauce

"If you have 15 minutes and a food processor, you’re there."

Alaina Sullivan/Bon Appétit

Yesterday I said I was going to make a green sauce - and I did - and although I haven't used it yet, I have to say that it was delicious. More about that in a moment.

First - the inspiration - well I should say inspirations. The first was a week or so ago in an oddments post Green sauces from Fork the People - a very short and fast little video that showed you how to make a variety of 'standard' green sauces. And here I will insert, not exactly an inspiration, but some words from Yotam Ottolenghi in his latest newsletter which was about the Yemeni spice mix Hawaij. He's talking about spice mixes here, but the same principle applies to sauces, such as this collection of well-known green sauces shown here.

"In reality, there isn’t a formula for Ras el hanout, for example, or for curry powder. Cooks and spice blenders tend to make their own choices, based on a loose profile, on family traditions and on what they like. This will change slightly, just like my home cooking does, every time they flavour a dish or make a new batch. It’s light hearted and jumbled. Yet when it comes to writing a recipe, the casual and loose are suddenly formalised. As soon as you scribble it down, it becomes a natural truth that we are all supposed to follow." Yotam Ottolenghi

And he then goes on to encourage you to experiment. Which is what I did yesterday.

The second inspiration was the Coles spread at the top of the page from their latest magazine. Over the page they gave specific recipes for the mixes shown here, but note the short notes at the top of the second page:

"Start with the base - For a rich and creamy sauce use a base of yoghurt, tahini or mayonnaise. For fresh sauces, herbs and cooked veg make a great base.

Add some extras - Depending on the style of sauce, mix in herbs and spices plus vinegar, oil and other flavour enhancers - think soy or fish sauce. To balance the savoury flavours, add a pinch of sugar.

Finish it off - If you need to thin out the sauce stir in a little warm water until you're happy with the consistency. And always remember to season it."

An even shorter and broader piece of advice comes from Gurdeep Loyal - A British cookbook writer - “You need two things: a really good fat and a really good sour.” He later gives an example which sounds intriguing and worth a try next time I have some preserved lemons. "preserved lemon whizzed up with a bit of their brine, some garlic-infused olive oil and maple syrup." Which is sort of the same thought from Alaina Sullivan on the Bon Appétit website whose favourite is: "basically a combination of the ingredients I reach for most often (miso, tahini, honey) blended together with herbs into a single condiment."

Then - a minor coincidence. Today's desktop recipe from Naz Deravian of The New York Times is this spinach yoghurt dip from Persia - Borani-yeh Esfenaj. Not that I'm necessarily recommending this particular example of green sauces - that can also be dips - but more because the whole of my environment seemed to be screaming - green things in a blender at me. Besides this one is much more complicated and involves some cooking. Still it's green and it's blended.

Last of all was the knowledge of a punnet of tarragon about to enter the wilting stage in my fridge - and no opportunity to use it in a recipe in the short term. Plus some almost decaying green chillies and capsicums, so much parsley in my herb garden and some basil I bought for that pasta recipe which is also on the verge.

I was also feeling a bit down from a diet of reheated leftovers - delicious though they all were, and the lack of enthusiasm from the grandchildren for my cooking experiment, so the thought of killing two birds with one stone - things that needed using, and the opportunity to experiment in a quick and easy way was enticing.

Incidentally it also gives me an opportunity to say how much I love my small blender purchased from Aldi about a year ago. Along with the gadgets that we use every day and don't notice - wooden spoons, garlic presses, slotted spoons, graters and lemon squeezers - I would have to say that it is my most used gadget and I heartily recommend that every kitchen should have one - or something similar. A proper food processor is too big for this sort of thing unless you are making in bulk for lots of people.

So what did I gather for this particular experiment? One green capsicum that I roasted in the oven before removing the skin and most of the seeds - the most time absorbing process of the whole thing. Those basil, parsley and tarragon leaves. A glug of tarragon vinegar; the juice of half a lime - because they are turning a brown colour on the outside too; a teaspoon of green peppercorns; two chopped up, about to decay, green chillies; three spring onions, garlic of course, a handful of pistachios and a good glug of olive oil.

And voilà - the end result. Green sauce no. 1 - never to be repeated because it depended on what I had at the time. I nervously wiped up the drips on the bench top and had a taste - and - it was so delicious - maybe a tiny bit too much acid, but that could be allayed by using it with yoghurt or cream - for a tray bake sauce, or a pesto like sauce for pasta. Or thin it some more for a vinaigrette. The potential ways in which it could be used are pretty endless really:

"A sauce breathes life into humble rice and perks up roasted vegetables. It complements rich meats, makes salads sing, and completes a grain bowl in one swoosh." Alaina Sullivan/Bon Appétit

"Sauces and dressings give dinner life, making even the simplest meals taste better." Anna Berrill

“Spoon that over everything from grilled fish to lamb or pork to crunchy veg, and it will feel as if you’ve put in a load of effort, even though it’s super-simple.” William Gleave - chef

So now I have to start thinking of how to use it. Bearing in mind the acid kick - maybe a sauce for fish.

Here it is today. As you can see I have covered it with a layer of olive oil - to prevent it going off fundamentally, although when I was searching for more advice, quotes - name it what you will - I came across a discussion on reddit about how to stop the green colour fading, or even worse, going brown. The reddit commentators seemed to think that the best solution was to blanch your greens before you start and then put them immediately into iced water - which sort of defeats the whole quick and easy thing to me.

I have to say that past experience with pesto has taught me that the olive oil helps although if it is in the fridge for a long time the top layer does discolour a bit. Stir it into the rest and it's saved however. And one of the reddit commentators - GuyBeanJohn - seemed to agree when he said: "oils maintain green color better and vinegars maintain purples, reds, and blues better"

Others seemed to think that adding an ice cube or two to your blender would do the trick or - most unlikely of all - "add a carrot top". Which at least shows a bit of originality as to what you could put in your green sauce.

And indeed what else could you add to a green sauce? Well anything green really - avocado was a favourite as was spinach - any green vegetable probably - rocket would be a favourite here, although I'm not sure about cabbage or brussels. Jalapeño chillies were another favourite as were capers and cornichons and green olives. Non-green but a good addition? Well anything from all those jars and bottles of condiments you have in your fridge and pantry - or breadcrumbs and cheese. It's such a fun exercise. I doubt it would end up revolting. The worst that would happen would that it would be nondescript which you can fix by adding something else, or just hiding it in something like a curry. As Anna Berril says: "There are a million ways to make an herb sauce" Including the texture - thick for a dip, thin for a dressing or a drizzle.

But it's all so much more exciting than that, because that's just green. What about all the other colours? Red, orange, purple, beige, white, brown, blue. Could you do black? The same principles would apply as with a green sauce, but just different ingredients. You could aim for one colour, or maybe just throw a mix in and see what comes out - possibly an unremarkable beige or brown - but then hummus - king of the dips - doesn't really look much does it?

Finally - do not forget texture. Most of our efforts in this line will end up smooth, or smoothish with the only difference being how thick or runny, which can be changed at will as you use bits of your original mix. After all I, for example, have made far too much for one dish, so one day I could thin it and use it as a salad dressing or a drizzle over something. Or I could thicken it with breadcrumbs and us it as a dip, or a crumb coating for a piece of fish or meat. The possibilities are indeed endless.

Or if you only have a few of those wilting veggies and herbs you could make a textured oil by raiding all those jars of nuts, and seeds and spices. This one sounded particularly appealing to me - and so unusual.

“Make it as you would a chilli crunch, with lots of fried shallots, garlic and Sichuan peppercorns, then add hot oil, dried apricots and harissa for a really amazing, smoky-sweet oil.” Drizzle over yoghurty roast carrots or blanch some noodles, add tahini and top with the crunch" Marc Summer

A long way from green sauce really but when you start on this kind of thing you very rapidly get led down all sorts of exciting avenues of experimentation. I wonder if you can do anything like this with past its best cauliflower?

YEARS GONE BY

May 25

2024 - Making cheese at home

2023 - Nothing

2022 - Devilled eggs

2021 - First recipe - café society

2020 - Deleted

2019 - A new very old wine - picpoul de pinet

2018 - The rich/poor gap - always and forever there

2017 - Barbecued sardines - again