By: Belinda J Mooney
Delicious savory sauces are the basis for all types of wonderful dishes, especially pasta dishes. There is the basic white sauce; a thinner, stock-based white sauce; brown sauce; tomato sauce and butter sauce. Each one of these sauces can have any number of variations, lending flavor and spice to your recipes. Learning how to make delicious sauces is not as hard as it sounds. Once you master the art of making your own sauces, you will never go back to the store-bought versions.
The Basic White Sauce (Béchamel)
This thick and yummy sauce is the basis for many pasta dishes, such as pasta alfredo.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup milk, warm
Directions:
- Melt the butter in a saucepan or small skillet over low heat. Blend in flour, salt and pepper with a whisk.
- Continue to stir and cook over low heat until the roux, as this is called, is smooth and bubbling. Remove from heat.
- Slowly stir in the milk and continue to whisk until the white sauce is smooth. Stir until no lumps remain.
- Bring white sauce to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil one minute until thickened.
Yield: 1 cup
White Sauce from Stock (Veloute)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups stock, usually chicken or fish stock
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper (optional)
Directions:
- Bring the stock to a boil in saucepan. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan or skillet over low heat. Whisk in the flour. Continue stirring and cooking the roux over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. The roux will start to get a bit darker than the white sauce and should be thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.
- Add the stock to the roux by whisking it in until smooth and lump-free. Place back on medium heat and continue stirring. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 30 minutes, depending on how thick you want it.
- Season with salt and pepper. You can also add other herbs, spices and even mushrooms to this sauce.
Basic Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large shallots, finely chopped (you can also use ½ cup small onions)
- Half green pepper, finely chopped
- 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatos
- 1 15-ounce can pureed tomatoes
Directions:
- Pour olive oil into saucepan. Add the onions, pepper and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent and the peppers are soft.
- Add the diced and pureed tomatoes to the onion mix. Next add the spices. Simmer tomato sauces for 10 to 20 minutes, depending upon how thick you want the sauce.
Yield: 4 to 5 cups of tomato sauce
Basic Brown Sauce
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 small onion, sliced thin
- 1(10 1/2 ounce) can condensed beef broth or equal amounts beef bouillon
Directions:
- Melt the butter in a saucepan or skillet. Add the onions and sauté until onions are translucent.
- Whisk in the flour to form the roux. Continue to whisk the sauce until roux darkens and bubbles.
- Whisk in the beef broth, stirring over medium heat continually, and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer until sauce is desired thickness.
- Season with your choice of seasonings, salt, pepper, garlic salt or thyme.
Basic butter sauce (Beurre Blanc)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
- 1 pound unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes and left in refrigerator until needed
- Salt, pepper, garlic or other spices to taste
Directions:
- Place wine, vinegar and shallots in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Continue to simmer until mixtures is greatly reduced, to about 2 tablespoons.
- Reduce heat to low and add butter, one piece at a time, while continually whisking. Keep stirring and adding more butter as the butter melts. Keep whisking until you have only 1 or 2 butter cubes left.
- Remove from heat and keep stirring. Add last few cubes and stir for a minute or two more. Your sauce should be thickened.
- Season with desired spices. Serve over vegetables.
Yield: 1 1/2 - 3 cups of sauce
