Sexy Sauces

This week I got saucey.

Tomato saucey (or ketchup, as those Swedes are prone to call it). & bearnaise saucey. & lemon curdy. Ok, so it's not a 'sauce', but you get the point.

On Friday night I decided that I wanted to graze. No set meal, size or whatever. I wanted to pick & snack & just vary it a bit from the usual meal. Sit in front of the TV & lounge out. It is the beginning of the weekend, afterall. The best time to start to relax.

Ketchup & bearnaise lookin' all sexy in leopard

So while our smorgasbord was just a simple arrangement of some vegetables & sauteed chicken, I wanted to get creative with the dipping options. I'd made the ketchup & bearnaise before, following instructions for both. This time though, I thought I'd be a little more intuitive with them, & bang, I nailed it.

I also had excess egg yolks on hand from all the home-made marshmallow I'd been making recently (a very very simple recipe & method that I'll share in another post). I wanted to put these to some good use, so I decided to embrace sauces of both savory & sweet.

The bearnaise can be a little bit of work, but the end result is simply worth it. Smooth & creamy with a nice tang, the boy even prefers it over the pre-made options available in the supermarket. I feel like I've really nailed the slightly sweet flavour of ketchup, but much prefer this to anything that comes in a bottle.

Lemon curd was something that I had been intending to make for a while but hadn't gotten around to it. It always reminds me of my grandmother (or mormor, in Swedish). She always had some on hand in her fridge, & it got me thinking of her while I was making it. I love the hit of lemon swirled in with the sweetness of sugar (or in this case, artificial sweetener). & after I made it, I realised just how Candida friendly & beneficial it is. Lemons, butter & eggs all in one!

Ketchup

Ingredients:

1 can chopped tomatoes (400g)

1/4 large yellow onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

½ teaspoon oregano

salt & pepper, to your desired taste

10-20 drops liquid sweetener

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

1. Add all ingredients to a saucepan on medium heat.

2. Cover & simmer till excess liquid has evaporated. Stir occasionally.

3. When cooked, put to the side & allow to cool slightly. Transfer to a blender, & process until smooth.

4. Transfer to a bowl & serve!

Bearnaise

Ingredients

125g butter, melted

2 egg yolks

1/2 large yellow onion, chopped finely

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons tarragon

pinch of pepper

Method:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan. In another, using a double-boiler method, add the onion, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of water & 2 tablespoons of vinegar. On low heat, cook till half the liquid has evaporated, then add the remaining water & vinegar. Cook for another 5 minutes.

2. Remove from heat & add the egg yolks, stirring. Add the butter slowly.

3. Place back on heat & add the tarragon. Cook for another 5 minutes.

4. Transfer to a bowl. Once cooled, serve!

Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

30g butter

60mls lemon juice

6mls liquid sweetener (60g sugar)

pinch of lemon zest

Method:

1. Cream butter & sweetener

2. Add remaining ingredients & blend together. (It will probably look like it's curdling, but this is a good thing!)

3. Transfer to a saucepan & cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.

4. Transfer to a bowl, allow to cool & serve

I plan to make a lemon meringue pie, now that I can make the lemon curd & marshmallow. I've just got to play around with some pie crust ideas I have, incorporating coconut flour, shredded coconut & hazelnut meal. Oh, I'm looking forward to that!