A few weeks ago, I saw my friend and fellow dietitian, Sarah-Jane Bedwell, RD, LDN, post about a radio media tour that she was doing that day for her client, CanolaInfo, to discuss six sauces that every home cook needed to commit to memory. Immediately, I knew that those sauces needed to be part of my Recipes You Know By Heart series since they fit perfectly into the theme so I asked Sarah-Jane if she would share them with you. From a flavorful vinaigrette to an all-purpose tomato sauce to a mushroom gravy, these six sauces are sure to become dinnertime staples.
Sarah-Jane Bedwell
From Sarah-Jane…
What would a salad be without vinaigrette? Or mac and cheese without béchamel? Sauces are elemental to good cooking and good food! Knowing how to prepare basic, simple sauces is a valuable culinary skill. Homemade sauces will taste better, cost less and be better for you, especially when made with high-quality ingredients like fresh herbs and canola oil.
I’ve worked with CanolaInfo to showcase these “Six Sauces for Success,” which are go-to classics every home cook should have in his or her back pocket. The good news is that they are easy to prepare, a delicious way to add flavor to basic dishes, and they are all made with wholesome ingredients! Each of these flavorful recipes is made with healthy canola oil, which is ideal for almost any kind of recipe. Canola oil’s neutral flavor, light texture and high heat tolerance work well with many dishes. It also contains the least saturated fat and most plant-based omega-3 fat of all common cooking oils.
Every home cook should commit these 6 sauces to memory... via @holleygraingerClick To TweetThe Six Sauces:
Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette
Image courtesy of CanolaInfo
Manicotti with All-Purpose Tomato Sauce
Image courtesy of CanolaInfo
Think beyond the basics when it comes to using these sauces to add flavor to your meals. For example, try using the vinaigrette to add life to a stand-by lunchtime sandwich, add the pesto to a baked potato as a perfect healthy substitute for sour cream. Enjoy the barbecue marinade on fish and veggies as well as meats, try using the tomato sauce in your meatloaf recipe, make basic chicken delicious with a topping of béchamel sauce, and use leftover gravy as an easy stew-starter—just thin with a little more broth.
What are your favorite homemade sauces and most creative ways to use them?