Courses & dish types

Sauces recipes

The difference between ingredients and a dish.

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A sauce is usually a liquid, a thickener and a fat, and most of the classical repertoire is a variation on which of the three is doing the work. An emulsion suspends fat in water and will break if it is rushed or overheated. A roux thickens with starch and needs to be cooked out or it tastes of flour. A reduction concentrates by evaporation, which concentrates the salt as well — which is why a reduction is seasoned at the end and never at the start. The recipes here say which kind of sauce a dish is making and what to do when it splits, since almost all of them can be rescued.

10 recipes

Simple Tomato Sauce — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Simple Tomato Sauce

Tinned tomatoes crushed by hand and cooked slowly with garlic until the oil splits back out, which is when the sauce is done.

BasicsItalianSauces

by brightosprey

Salsa Verde — shot from directly overhead: tomatillos and green chilli blitzed with coriander and lime — sharp

Salsa Verde

Tomatillos and green chilli blitzed with coriander and lime — sharp, loose, and made in the time it takes to boil a kettle.

15 minutesMexicanNo-cook

Quick Pickled Red Onions — shot from directly overhead: thin red onion slices covered in warm sweet-sharp brine

Quick Pickled Red Onions

Thin red onion slices covered in warm sweet-sharp brine, bright magenta and ready to eat in half an hour.

45 minServes 12

BasicsMexicanSauces

by zestykestrel

Everyday Vinaigrette — shot from directly overhead: a mustard-emulsified dressing built on three parts oil to one part acid

Everyday Vinaigrette

A mustard-emulsified dressing built on three parts oil to one part acid, a ratio worth memorising so you never need the recipe again.

15 minutes30 minutesBasics

Steamed Basmati Rice — shot from directly overhead: basmati rinsed until the water runs clear and cooked by absorption

Steamed Basmati Rice

Basmati rinsed until the water runs clear and cooked by absorption, then rested off the heat with the lid on so the grains separate.

BasicsIndianSauces

by brightosprey

Patatas Bravas — shot from directly overhead: twice-cooked potatoes under a smoky

Patatas Bravas

Twice-cooked potatoes under a smoky, faintly fierce tomato sauce — the one tapa every bar in Spain is judged on.

PotatoesSaucesSide dishes

Mole Poblano — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Mole Poblano

A long, dark sauce of toasted chillies, nuts, seeds, spices and a little chocolate, poured over turkey or chicken.

ChickenMexicanSauces

Chicken Stock — shot from directly overhead: stock from a roast carcass

Chicken Stock

Stock from a roast carcass, held at a bare simmer for hours so it stays clear, and what the onion and tomato soups both ask for.

4 hr 15 minServes 8

BasicsSaucesChicken

Bechamel Sauce — shot from directly overhead: a white sauce built on a cooked butter and flour roux

Bechamel Sauce

A white sauce built on a cooked butter and flour roux, with the milk beaten in by stages so it thickens smooth instead of lumpy.

BasicsFrenchSauces

Albóndigas in Almond Sauce — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Albóndigas in Almond Sauce

Pork and beef meatballs simmered in a pale sauce thickened with fried bread and almonds rather than flour.

1 hr 15 minServes 4

Often combined with

Sauces + Basics Sauces + Vegetarian Sauces + Mexican Sauces + 15 minutes Sauces + Vegan Sauces + French Sauces + Spanish Sauces + Chicken Sauces + Italian Sauces + Tomatoes Sauces + No-cook Sauces + 30 minutes

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