Feelin’ Saucy!

By Sarah Stoner

If you want to sell a steak, you can't just have the sizzle, you gotta have sauce. -Don King

Woe to the cook whose sauce has no sting. -Geoffrey Chaucer

An ounce of sauce covers a multitude of sins. -Anthony Bourdain

Ya’d think sauces are simple. 

At least, a cooking rube like me might believe so. “I want to be a master of sauces,” I declared recently. 

Then I web-searched ‘Sauces.’ Not so simple. Savory or sweet, smooth or chunky, warm or chilled: a sauce elevates everything from a weeknight plain chicken dinner to Saturday night ice cream.

“I think sauces are one of the harder things to master in cooking—yet are so central to a memorable meal,” says my foodie friend Laura. 

“A good sauce brings everything on the plate together. It rounds flavors, creates a pleasing mouthfeel, and provides extra moisture to the food.” 

Clearly, I hit the meal-ticket topic with her. “And there’s such diversity in sauces!” she continues. 

“Rich and luxurious, bright and zingy, herbaceous and refreshing… the trick is choosing the right one and then executing it well.” 

In the Kitchen

Sauces may be prepared and served cold, like mayonnaise; prepared cold but served lukewarm like pesto; cooked and served warm like bechamel; or cooked and served cold like apple sauce. Sauces enhance flavor in different ways. Sometimes, they intensify the food’s own flavor, sometimes they work by offering a contrasting taste to the main ingredient.  

They may be freshly prepared by the cook, or used premade like the all-familiar Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, or sriracha. Sauces for salad are called salad dressing. Sauces made by deglazing a pan are called pan sauces.

A chef who specializes in making sauces is called a saucier. I do not aspire to be a saucier. (Frankly, I could not be saucier, according to a handful of friends.)

Instant Flavor Upgrade

Sauces are defined as “liquids that accompany the main ingredients of a dish.” But a sauce can be liquid, cream, or semi-solid. You dip, drizzle, or serve sauce as a separate component—think gravy, salad dressing, chutneys; different from dishes in which sauces are part of the dish ‘itself’—think lasagnas, stir-fry, curries. 

Over a Friday dinner with friends and a medley of appetizers each paired with a different dipping sauce, we named some of our favorites: bechamel, tzatziki, chimichurri, Hollandaise, Romesco, marsala (my friend likes it on her pasta), Espagnole, tomato, pesto, guacamole… sauces are an essential element in cuisines all over the world.

The Sauce Way-Back Machine

The word “sauce” derives from the Latin word salsus, meaning salt—the first type of flavoring we humans ever used. Meat, vegetables, and grains can be pretty bland on their own, which is why salt was used to boost natural flavors. But sauces go way beyond the flavoring of salt, pepper, or sugar. They offer flavor, moisture, mouthfeel—and abundant variation to the chef and the eater.

Ye ole internet says that the oldest recorded European sauce is likely garum, the fish sauce used by the Ancient Romans, while doubanjiang, the Chinese soy bean paste is likely the oldest Asian sauce with its mention in a 2nd-century B.C. book.  

The multitude of Mexican salsa can be classified as a type of sauce—from pico de gallo to salsa verde. Especially when “salsa” in Spanish is literally… you guessed it: sauce. 

In the 18th century, the French brought the concept of “mother sauces” to the table. Classification ensued. Sauce viewed through the French lens categorized them into four families: espagnole, velouté, allemande, and béchamel—embracing the concept that all sauces were born from these mother sauces.

I don’t buy it. But then, what do I know. I am just a saucy simple lover of flavors, especially when shared. I have a long road to ‘mastery’, but I’m going to enjoy the journey, that’s for sure.

Skagit writer and eater Sarah Stoner grew up in Uganda, Morocco, Belgium, and Thailand and lived in the U.S. for the first time at age 18. Long after middle school in Antwerp where she learned the joy of dipping fries in mayonnaise, Sarah planted herself in vibrant Skagit Valley. sarahjstoner@hotmail.com

Sesame Sauce

Delicious uncooked sauce over pasta or grains and veggies—over raw carrots & short grained brown rice is one of my crunchy faves.

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds

• 1 tsp minced garlic

• 1/2 tsp crushed fresh ginger

• 3 Tbsp organic flax oil

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

• 6 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari

• 1 Tbsp powdered veg broth

• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Lightly toast sesame seeds for 1 minute in a frying pan.

2. In a blender or food processor, combine the ingredients in descending order, processing after every 3 additions.

3. Process the entire mixture until thick.

Chipotle Tahini 

Yields 11/2 cups, or six servings

My first foray into creamy-blended-with-spicy-and-touch-of sweet was with a slow-roasted Kabocha squash. Dip, dunk, drizzle. Magic.

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/4 cup tahini

• 1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce

• 1 small clove of garlic

• juice of 1 orange (~1/4 cup)

• 1/2 tsp coarse salt

Directions:

Blend all the sauce ingredients together in a small blender or food processor until smooth and creamy.

Pesto Eggs

Take your fried eggs to a new level of delicious plus comfort food. Especially tasty piled on top of sourdough toast—sliced tomato, anyone? Easiest. Meal. Ever. (Breakfast, lunch, or dinner!) Store your pesto in the freezer for all-season access.

• 2 eggs

• 1/4 cup pesto

Directions:

1. Heat a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.

2. Pour the pesto into the skillet and let it cook for 1 minute, or until the oil in the pesto is sizzling.

3. Add the eggs to the hot pesto. Turn the heat to medium-low and cover the pan.

4. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the egg white is firm and the yolks are cooked to your liking. Mmmm...