Sour cream also makes a nice creamy base. Pop in some chopped chives and garlic and thin with lemon juice to make a tangy sauce. This is also one of those cases when a tiny bit of white sugar can round out the flavor. San Marzano tomatoes are so juicy they make enough liquid for a sauce. Cook them with sautéed garlic and a generous amount of oregano, add some red wine vinegar, salt and red pepper flakes and you've got a very tasty ready-made pasta sauce.
A few weeks ago, we were having dinner with a friend who had cooked a beautiful leg of lamb. Staying in a traditional mode, he also had prepared mint sauce, but this wasn’t the jelly kind, this was the real deal. Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, when it comes to herb-based sauces, mint is just the beginning.
There are several great things about herbs. First, they grow like crazy here in Maryland, and you can always find them at the Farmers Markets, or you can grow your own. Secondly herbs have their own distinct flavor and aroma. Parsley doesn't smell like thyme and oregano doesn't smell like lemon grass. And thirdly, many of them have a time-honored affinity for particular foods: rosemary and lamb or dill and fish.
This means that we can easily whip up a sauce custom designed for most any meal you want to serve. If you have made pesto or chimichurri, you're already down with the idea. So let's look at a few other examples.
There seem to be at least three basic approaches: you can simply purée a bunch of ingredients to make a chunky sauce; or you can use an olive oil base that will be a bit smoother; or you can make a cream-based sauce that will be smoother still.
That classic mint sauce couldn't be easier. Take a bunch of mint leaves and sprinkle them with salt. Finely chop, pour in some sugar and keep it all in a bowl for an hour or two. Then pour boiling water over the mint, let it cool down, and add your favorite vinegar to taste. You know what to do with it.
Thyme in all its varieties is easy to find in Maryland. Making creamy thyme and garlic sauce is quite a simple affair. First, you'll make a simple cheesy béchamel
sauce, adding enough milk to make it a bit runny. Then toss in garlic salt to taste and a few tablespoons of dried thyme. Stir it well and adjust the consistency. Flavor with a bit of nutmeg if you like, and serve it over vegetables, potatoes or pasta.
If you've got a lot of parsley on hand, substitute it for the thyme to make English Parsley Sauce.
