Herb butter (for fish, white meats, sauces and vegetable dishes)

image courtesy of bitlessbridle.co.uk

Another one of the good larder ingredients, this butter provides a wonderful herb element whilst giving a moderate sweetness with the shallot presence. Perfect accompaniment and finishing tool for a variety of sauces, meats, fish, and vegetable dishes.

You will need:

250g salted butter softened
3 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
1 tbsp sage finely chopped
1 tbsp rosemary finely chopped
1 tsp tarragon finely chopped
1 crushed clove of garlic,
1 shallot very finely chopped

The doing bit:

In a saucepan add a small amount of oil then add the shallots and garlic and cook gently until soft. Allow to cool.

Combine all ingredients and mix into uniform paste. Wrap in cling film and form into a sausage shape. Chill until required.

Sauce Au Poivre (Peppercorn sauce)

Image courtesy of bigoven.com

I love peppercorn sauce - it goes well with alot of things and its meaty flavour helps accentuate most meats from chicken to veal and everything inbetween. Its a popular steak sauce and simple and quick to make, so i've included it here for those of you wishing to make it for your own culinary curiosity,

You will need:


2 knobs of butter
Finely chopped shallot
Half a handful of parsley finely chopped
Roughly ground black pepper and a 8-10 of peppercorns
Shot of brandy
Ladle of beef , lamb, chicken, or veal stock
Salt
2 tbsp. double cream

In a pan melt the butter and add the shallot. Cover the pan and allow to sweat on a moderate heat (but dont let the butter burn). When the shallot has softened add the peppercorns, and ground pepper. Cook for 3-4 mins still covered, then add the brandy. Flame until alcohol has burned off, then add the stock. Reduce by a third and taste. If more punch is required reduce until half of liquid has gone, then add the cream and parsley. Cook for a further minute then serve.

Gyoza Sauce

Gyoza sauce provides a very useful and verstaile flavour base, that can be used not just for gyoza but in a variety of dishes. Although best served with gyoza or as a glaze or dipping sauce for meat, it goes phenomenally well with earthy vegetables also such as radishes etc - so we can see that the application for this sauce becomes diverse. With attitude and punch, its bound to go down a storm.

You will need (makes about 350ml)

1 large garlic clove, peeled and chopped finely
1 large red chilli (chopped to same proportions as the garlic)
Salt
25g sugar
100ml malt vinegar
250ml light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Crush the garlic and chilli together with the flat of a chefs knife, to form a paste. Heat up the vinegar and dissolve the sugar within over a low heat. Combine and store.

Will keep for several weeks chilled.

Kara-Age Sauce

This sauce is useful for a number of things - you can use it as a marinade for white meats or even as a glaze for noodles. You can also use in place of teriyake for a variation. The prime use for this sauce however is for marinading chicken for the use of the dish "kara-age" - a side dish which is a wonderful snack and can be eaten with various accompaniments such as noodles, steamed vegetables etc. It's also very good for small hot buffets.

(Makes a large batch so adjust accordingly)

1 in ginger root, peeled and grated
750ml (1.25 pints) light soy sauce
50ml Sake
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tbsp oyster sauce

Combine all ingredients in a pan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Set aside to cool and store.

Bechamel

Bechamel is to the savoury world what creme patisserie is to the dessert world - a useful "mortar" that has oodles of applications in a multitude of dishes. It's a master sauce for the more lighter sauces we know such as onion sauce, parsley sauce, and other white sauce derivatives. It gives a wonderful medium for many soups also.

Ingredients (makes 1 pint of thick bechamel. Adjust butter flour / liquid levels for lighter versions)

1 pint whole milk
1/2 scored onion, studded with 3 cloves
2 bay leaves
4 black peppercorns
pinch nutmeg
pinch mace
2tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp butter

In one pan combine milk, studded onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, mace and nutmeg. Heat gently but do not allow to boil. Continue to stir occasionally untl onion softens. At this point keep warm on a low heat

In a seperate pan melt the butter until bubbling, then fold in the flour, mixing to a uniform paste with a wooden spoon. Add the infused milk bit by bit, whisking together until in a uniform sauce.

Simmer and stir occasionally for about 20 minutes until flour has cooked out.

Use as a master sauce for veloutes, and other white sauce derivatives.