Brush up your Cooking Skills

‘Keep stirring’ as we ‘fly’ around the world

Want to use the darker evenings to improve your cooking skills and save money on your single food budget?  Then check out our selection of four of the most essential, simple sauce recipes from around the world. With so much going on in the world right now, why not escape by cooking your way around the globe. Brushing up on basics is a great start and may even inspire your future travel plans, so give it a go.

Master these 4 sauces from scratch & you’ll conquer your kitchen and save a small fortune in ready made sauces that won’t taste half as good.

Four basic cooking sauces for one – from scratch. NO freeze-dried packet mix, NO expensive bottles of pasta sauce, just simple basic ingredients and a few minutes of your time. 

 1. CLASSIC TOMATO OR NAPOLI SAUCE Pasta Sauces Italy Cooking for one

Save time and money with this fantastic simple tomato sauce recipe and you’ll never buy a jar of supermarket pasta sauce again.  Also known as Napoli sauce, this recipe uses 4 simple ingredients, takes 3 minutes to prep, around 15 minutes to cook and make a big batch to save even more time in the future.  Sweet plum tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil and a bit of seasoning is everything you need to create this classic sauce. Easy to make, easy to use in all sorts of recipes and easy to freeze down into individual portions for one.


JAMIE OLIVER’S CLASSIC TOMATO SAUCE FOR PASTA 

PREP: 3 minutes
COOKING TIME 15 mins
Makes around 4-5 portions

INGREDIENTS – WHAT YOU NEED 
1 bunch of fresh basil
1 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 kg ripe tomatoes, or 2 x 400g tins of good quality chopped tomatoes
olive oil
(optional) 1 tablespoon red wine or balsamic vinegar

HOW

  • Putting some of the baby basil leaves aside for garnish, finely chop the stalks and roughly chop the basil leaves. Finely slice the onion and garlic, roughly chop fresh tomatoes if your using them, or simply open the cans if you’re not.  (Could this be easier?)
  • Gently warm 1 teaspoon of olive in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the onions cooking for around 7 minutes or until soft and lightly golden. Add finely chopped garlic, chopped basil, tomatoes and if you have some red wine or balsamic vinegar.
  • Season to taste, turn the heat down to a simmer and continue cooking for around 15 minutes giving the sauce an occasional stir.  Finally blitz your sauce in a blender if you have one (just a short blitz) if you prefer a smooth sauce, or leave ‘as is’ if you prefer a chunky sauce.

STORE IT OR USE IT?
Store in sterilised jars in the fridge for up to 1 week or spoon the sauce into individual portioned containers, label and freeze for up to 2 months

RECIPE IDEAS
Go Naked! – Napoli sauce makes a great simple pasta spaghetti  dish on its own, with or without some grated Parmesan, making it a perfect midweek meal.  Or use the basic sauce to make an endless variation of pasta dishes for one, from classics like Spaghetti Bolognese or Spaghetti with Meatballs or by adding in all sorts of other ingredients to make your own pasta recipe from one, from lightly oven roasted red onions and peppers, to fried bacon and mushrooms, fried slices of chorizo sausage, mozzarella cheese, chopped chicken, or try chopped black olives and marinated artichokes if you want to posh it up a bit.

2. CHEESE SAUCE Home made cheese sauce recipe for one

Rumoured to be originally invented by Thomas Jefferson, the third President of America, the good news is that cheese is pretty much cheese. If you’re a Jamie Oliver fan you’ll have seen that not only can you use any type of cheese to make a really easy cheese sauce, you can also use a combination of any left-over cheeses you’ve got to make it.

DELIA SMITH ‘ANY KIND OF CHEESE SAUCE’

PREP: less than 30 minutes
COOKING TIME 10 to 30 mins
Makes 1 pint/570ml

INGREDIENTS – WHAT YOU NEED
3oz/75g of any Cheese, Delia uses 2oz/50g of finely grated Cheddar & 1oz/25g Parmesan – but you can use any cheese you want
1 pint/570ml milk
1½oz/40g plain flour
1½oz/40g butter
pinch of cayenne pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly milled black pepper

HOW
All you do is put the milk, flour, butter and cayenne pepper into a medium sized saucepan, place it over a gentle heat, then using a balloon whisk, keep at it (whisking) bringing it to a gentle simmer. Whisk continually until you have a smooth, glossy sauce for around 10 minutes, then add the cheeses and whisk again until the cheese has melted into the sauce. Season with salt, freshly milled black pepper and some freshly grated nutmeg if you’ve got some and its done.

FREEZE IT OR USE IT?
Can be stored in the fridge for up to a week and yes, a good Cheese sauce will freeze, some people freeze it in ice cube trays then store the frozen chunks in a plastic bag. Defrost it in the fridge before using and whisk it into shape if needed when you’re gently reheating the sauce.

RECIPE IDEAS
Cauliflower cheese, all sorts of pasta dishes, with fish, with Nachos, makes macaroni cheese in minutes and lots more.

3. EASY PRESTO PESTO Pasta Sauces Italy Cooking for one

Did you know that Pesto is an uncooked cold sauce originating from Genoa, the capital city of Liguaria in Italy?  Made with 5 simple ingredients the word pesto comes from the Italian ‘pestare’, meaning ‘to pound, or crush’, or indeed to ‘pestle’. Fortunately, we now use a blender or a pestle if you have one. With a recent survey finding that some jars of Pesto had more salt per serving than a takeaway burger, here’s a healthy alternative Italian recipe from a proper Italian Chef that takes just 5 minutes to make.

GINO D’CAMPO PESTO RECIPE

PREP: less than 30 minutes
COOKING TIME 10 to 30 mins
Makes 1 pint/570ml

INGREDIENTS – WHAT YOU NEED
50g fresh basil, leaves only
50g pine nuts
1 garlic clove, peeled
130ml extra virgin olive oil
25g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

HOW

  • Place the basil, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. Drizzle in the oil and blitz until smooth.
  • Transfer the basil mixture into a large bowl and fold in the Parmesan cheese. Season with a little salt. That’s it!

FREEZE IT OR USE IT?
Pesto freezes really well, so no need to eat your home-made Pesto for breakfast, dinner and tea!   Can be frozen in larger amounts or like the cheese sauce recipe above freeze overnight in ice cube trays or smaller containers then put the portions into a freezer bag for as an when you need it. For best results, thaw the frozen pesto ahead of the time you need it in the fridge,  or simply set your microwave to defrost if you haven’t got time, stopping and stirring as it defrosts.

RECIPE IDEAS
Purists may say that you should only use Pesto sauce with pasta, from a very simple pasta dish with just pesto or all sorts of other amazing pasta dishes. Other cooks use it on everything from Pizzas to adding a bit to mash or salads, as a dip, in soup, so it’s a good job that we’re not.
Try red pesto made with sun dried tomatoes, basil, cheeses, cashew nuts and pine nuts if you want something different.

4. WHITE SAUCE RECIPE FOR ONE Home made white sauce recipe for one

Every home cook needs a good béchamel sauce in their repertoire and if you’ve got a saucepan, wooden spoon and a whisk then you’re half-way there. One of our 4 essential sauces, White sauce or Béchamel sauce made from a white roux and milk can also used as a base for other sauces. Originating from France in the 17th century it’s considered to be one of the mother sauces of French cuisine and so one of the VIP sauces from across the world. Master this 3 ingredient white sauce from the BBC , add a bit of seasoning and you’ll be one step closer to a saucery wizard.

PAN CLASSIC WHITE OR BECHAMEL SAUCE

PREP: 5 minutes
COOKING TIME 15 minutes
Makes 1 pint/570ml

INGREDIENTS – WHAT YOU NEED
25g/1oz butter
25g/1oz plain flour
600ml/1 pint of milk
Seasoning

HOW

  • Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in 1oz of plain flour, keep stirring and cook the mixture (called a ‘roux’) for 1-2 minutes – it may smell a bit a bit odd, but no need to worry! Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in one-third of the milk. Return to the heat and simmer, stirring, until all the milk is absorbed. (It’ll be a very thick mixture at this stage, but still no need to worry!!)
  • Repeat the process, adding in just a little bit of the milk at a time, stirring all the time until all the milk is absorbed, allowing the sauce to become thick and shiny before adding more milk.
  • When you’ve added all the milk slowly bring it to the boil and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes and season to taste.

FREEZE IT OR USE IT?
Can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days and although this sauce contains milk, it keeps well in the freezer for up to 6 months. Spoon the white sauce into suitable plastic containers or good quality freezer bags in individual portions, allowing the portions to cool completely before putting them in the freezer. Reheat the sauce very gently in a saucepan, whisking constantly as you go,  adding a little more milk if it’s too thick.

RECIPE IDEAS
Great as a basic sauce for lasagne,  gratins, scalloped potatoes, on fish,  on its own or as a base for other, more complex sauces. Once mastered there are dozens of variations you can use this recipe for.  Our favourite is substituting flour for cornflour and adding in some brandy or dark run and caster sauce to make a festive Brandy Sauce for Christmas pudding and mince pies. (What’s not too like?)

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