There's magic in being able to make your own sauce from scratch.
A well-made sauce can bring any dish together. It brings creaminess, taste, or even a bit of texture, that takes your meal to another level.
Can you imagine pasta without sauce? Eggs Benedict without Hollandaise sauce?
Or a burger without some delicious mushroom or cheese sauce oozing down your chin, together with the juices of your lip-smackingly delicious burger?
Neither can we.
But there's an art to making great sauces. Below, the ‘saucy’ chefs at Capsicum Culinary Studio share five easy-to-make but oh-so-delicious recipes that you can try at home.
Marvellous mayonnaise
The secret to making a good mayonnaise is ensuring all ingredients are at room temperature before you start.
Ingredients
1 large egg
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs red or white wine vinegar
¼ tsp kosher salt
250ml canola oil
1 tsp fresh lemon juice, optional
Method
Crack open an egg and place it in the small bowl of a food processor and beat for 20 seconds.
Add the mustard, vinegar, and salt and beat for another 20 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, turn the food processor on, and slowly add the oil in tiny drops until about a quarter of the oil has been added; this is important for proper emulsification.
When the mixture starts to thicken and emulsify, and with the processor still running, add the rest of the oil in a very thin stream.
Once done, switch off the processor and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl then process for an extra 10 seconds.
Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, lemon juice, or extra vinegar to your liking. If the mayo seems too thin, slowly stream in more oil with the processor running until it thickens.
Best béarnaise sauce
Pour over steaks or burgers, asparagus, or salmon. The sauce’s richness improves virtually everything it touches.
Ingredients
¼ cup white-wine vinegar
1 shallot, peeled and minced
½ tsp ground black pepper
1½ tbs tarragon leaves, chopped
2 egg yolks
170g unsalted butter, melted
Kosher salt
Splash of lemon juice, optional
Method
Place the vinegar, shallot, black pepper and 1 tablespoon of the tarragon leaves into a small saucepan and set over medium heat.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until there are only a few tablespoons of liquid left (about 5 minutes).
Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve, then let it cool for 5 minutes.
Once cooled, pour into a blender and add the egg yolks, lemon juice, and salt and blend for 5 seconds or until combined.
With the blender running on medium-high, slowly stream the melted butter into the mixture until it's emulsified.
Pour into a small bowl or jug, stir in the finely chopped tarragon, and serve.
Brilliant bechamel
Without bechamel there would be no lasagne, mac and cheese, fish pie, or cauliflower cheese, to name a few.
Ingredients
50g butter
¼ cup plain flour
2½ cups milk
Method
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour. Stir with a wooden spoon for a minute or two or until the mixture bubbles.
Gradually stir in the milk. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens.
Season with salt and pepper.
Once you have made your bechamel, you can start adding to it to suit your purpose. When Gruyère and parmesan are added it becomes a Mornay sauce, used with tuna, oysters, and eggs.
When cheddar is added it is known as cheese sauce and is the one we’re most likely to pour over cauliflower or broccoli.
The perfect pesto
This herby Italian-style sauce can be stirred through pasta or dribbled over fish or chicken.
Ingredients
50g pine nuts
80g basil
50g Parmesan
150ml olive oil
2 garlic cloves
Method
Heat a small frying pan over low heat. Cook the pine nuts until golden, shaking occasionally. Put into a food processor with the basil, Parmesan, olive oil, and garlic cloves. Whizz until smooth and season to taste.
While this recipe is for the classic pesto using the three key ingredients of basil, Parmesan, and pine nuts, you can substitute them for a variety of similar components such as parsley, coriander, rocket, broccoli, kale, spinach and peas instead of the basil; walnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts for the pine nuts; and pecorino, Manchego, aged gouda, or aged cheddar to replace the Parmesan.
Heavenly hollandaise
A classic creamy sauce to drizzle over poached eggs or vegetables.
Ingredients
3 egg yolks
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
½ cup unsalted butter or ghee, or more for a thinner consistency, melted and hot
Method
Place the butter in a microwavable bowl and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute until hot.
Meanwhile, place the egg yolks, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, and cayenne pepper into a blender and blend for 5 seconds or until combined.
With the blender running on medium-high, slowly stream the hot butter into the mixture until it's emulsified.
Pour the hollandaise sauce into a small bowl and serve while warm.