A Saucier...Of Sorts

I believe that it is vital for one's mental health to eat well at dinner during the week. After a long day at work, a (possibly) uninspired lunch and a commuting experience which resembles that of a sardine in a can, one must treat oneself.


And although take-out certainly has its place, and when I crave the yook gae jang from the Korean place in my neighborhood I won't deny myself, in general I don't find eating out of styrofoam containers on my living room floor to be particularly soul satisfying.


So what's a busy working girl to do? How to elevate a quick weeknight dinner above the merely pedestrian? Sauce, that's how. On anything from meat to broiled chicken to fish to pasta. You will not recognize your forlorn little chicken breast once anointed.


I have recently become rather obsessed with tahini, perhaps because I finally found a brand that I like? I'm telling you, I love it almost as much as I love peanut butter, which is saying something. Mixed with some grated garlic (I like a lot), salt, lemon juice and as much water as necessary to get the consistency that you prefer, tahini sauce punches up lamb, chicken and just about anything else it comes in contact with.



My mom turned me onto Mark Bittman's sauce for swordfish (but really, put it on anything you like) recently, and I've been a fan ever since.


A 1/4 cup of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup minced shallots, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons lemon juice combined with salt and pepper to taste will have even the most avowed fish haters chowing down. And do not neglect your potatoes...they benefit greatly from a drizzle (or more) of this lovely concoction.

If all of this chopping and mixing and juicing is more than you feel up to, I have another option for you. A perfect fried egg. Once you cut into the yolk the beautiful golden matter will adorn whatever you are eating with the most perfect sauce in existence. Nature has been good to us, no?

(bulgar with tuna sauce and harissa)

Serendipity

It seems that this is a very productive time of year for local farms. Now I haven't stepped foot on a farm since Glastonbury, but my CSA box has been particularly abundant of late, so I can only assume that we have come to the peak harvest period.

While on one hand there is something exquisite about having a full refrigerator, on the other hand I feel a vague but constant pressure to actually use the bounty that has been bestowed upon me. And when I have five eggplants, 8 tomatoes and several pounds of greens (among other things...like cardoons which to this day I cannot figure out a use for), using them up is no easy feat.

So, as my imagination wanes in times like these, I inevitably turn to my cookbook collection for some inspiration. And where better to turn than Madhur Jaffery's World Vegetarian when the raw materials in question are vegetables?

In a recent effort to rid myself of a few Japanese eggplants through one of her recipes, I came across the best peanut sauce I have ever encountered. EVER. I am using it all over the place now.

A tangy/hot/sweet mixture of natural peanut butter (buy it in bulk from a health food store or Whole Foods...delicious and the cheapest way to obtain it!)...

stirred together to make a creamy emulsion to anoint steamed eggplant (Madhur's suggestion and it is a good one)

or just about anything else you can think of. Last night I personally was on a quest to clean out my drawers and cupboards, so threw some glass noodles and various veggies in a bowl and tossed it with the magic peanut sauce. Heaven.

As were the steamed eggplants with sauce a few days ago, and the cucumbers dipped in it a day or two ago, and the boiled potatoes tossed with it the day before. Endless possibilities.

Spicy Chinese Peanut Dressing

From Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian

Yields approximately 1/2 cup

4 teaspoons freshly made peanut butter from a health food shop or 4 tablespoons roasted peanuts ground to a paste in a clean coffee grinder

4 teaspoons soy sauce

4 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili paste with soybean or chili paste with garlic, optional (I use sriracha)

1/2 teaspoon very finely chopped ginger (I grate it on a Microplane)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Drizzle over base of choice.