The Art of Sauce: Elevating Every Dish
Author: Panos Platritis Clinical Dietitian Nutritionist BSc,MSc, Registered with GE SY Member of BDA, ESPEN, CYSPEN, SEPI
Sauces bring moisture, richness, and flavour to a wide variety of dishes. Cooks often prepare them to complement meats, vegetables, pasta, or rice. Classic French cuisine includes sauces like béchamel, hollandaise, and velouté, known for their creamy and smooth textures. Italian dishes feature tomato-based sauces, pesto, and carbonara for hearty and bold tastes. In Asian cooking, soy, oyster, teriyaki, and curry sauces enhance both flavour and aroma. You can thicken sauces with flour, cream, or starch depending on the desired consistency. Home cooks and chefs alike adjust seasoning and texture to match each recipe. Whether you drizzle, pour, or stir in a sauce, it elevates the entire dish. Always prepare sauces fresh when possible to capture their full flavour.
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Cocktail Sauce
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon paprika
Pepper
Preparation:
- Mix the mayonnaise with the ketchup and paprika.
- Add pepper.
- Serve with salads, as a dip, or with cold stuffed tomatoes
Garlic Sauce
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Pepper
Fresh basil
Oregano
Preparation:
- Mix the mayonnaise with the yogurt
- Peel the cucumber, cut it into pieces, and add it to the sauce
- Peel the garlic and squeeze its juice into the cucumber
- Add salt and pepper and garnish with chives.
Sauce with Red Pepper
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of butter or margarine
2 sweet red peppers
125ml of cream
1 shallot or 1 small fresh onion
Salt and Pepper
Preparation:
Finely chop the peppers and the onion. 2. Sauté the peppers and the onion in the butter or margarine until they soften. 3. Place the vegetables in the blender together with the cream and add salt and pepper. 4. Blend until the sauce is smooth and serve hot.
Curry Sauce
Ingredients:
½ onions
Light butter
1 teaspoon curry
250ml vegetable stock
Corn flour
Water
Pepper
Paprika
Saffron
Execution:
- Peel the onion, finely chop it and sauté it in the butter
- Add the curry, stirring constantly to avoid burning, then add the stock
- Allow the sauce to heat thoroughly and thicken it with the corn flour dissolved in a little water
- Add pepper, paprika and saffron.
Sauce with Cream
Ingredients:
25g butter or margarine
1 tablespoon flour
125ml vegetable stock
125ml cream
Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper
Paprika
Execution:
- Heat the butter or margarine until melted
- Add the flour, stirring continuously
- Add the vegetable stock, stirring until the sauce thickens
- Add the cream along with nutmeg, salt, pepper and paprika.
Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
½ onion
4 tomatoes
1 tablespoon oil
Pepper
Stock granules or powder
Fresh basil
Execution:
- Peel and finely chop the onion
- Cut the tomatoes into pieces
- Heat the oil and simmer the onion and tomato
- Purée the sauce and strain it
- Add pepper, stock granules and basil
Broccoli Sauce
Ingredients:
200g broccoli
125ml cream
Pepper
Stock granules or powder
Execution:
- Wash the broccoli well, cut it into pieces and steam them
- Mash the broccoli
- Add the cream, pepper and stock granules.
- Served in various ways. It’s commonly enjoyed tossed with pasta, as a sauce for baked potatoes or roasted vegetables, or even as a dip for crackers and crudités. It also pairs well with chicken, fish, and other main courses