soupnancy

Well at least here and now, with the weather hitting sub-zero, mussels on the mind, and doable with ingredients that are always handy..

Like with my favourite veg or smell, my favourite anything is always changing - a fleeting love affair, but this sauce, in all it’s variations is a keeper no matter what - so old school in essence, so versatile, so comforting, impossible to forget for long..

This week, I was craving mussels, so I made the sauce and while it was on the stove, I went out for mussels, it usually easy to find fresh specimens at this time of year, but didn’t find any worth buying, and so ate it with veal, the next night over pasta, delicious. I eventually got my mussels and made another batch – yum. Since, I’ve eaten it with bread and butter, rice and veg, ham and pintade. I know I’m a sauce girl, but wow does this one make me sing. It really hits the spot when you’re eating alone on a cold night, but it would equally fit in over a sexy dinner for two.

It’s more ‘cuisine de grand mère’ than modern, definitely bordering on classic French, which no doubt explains why you can’t go wrong.. I’m sure many of you have one like it in your arsenal, and if not, well you definitely should. In French cooking speak, I guess it would be a velouté, a riff on a poulette, but who cares, this is how it goes..

Keep in mind that many ingredients can be omitted or added; the basics are onions, white wine, stock, cream, mustard, plus aromatics of choice, a bit of bacon is always a good idea. You could always add more stock and make soup. Add potatoes and clams or corn, you have chowder.. You could bake chicken or pork in it too. Some tomato added in is a nice addition if in the mood. And yes, you could omit the bacon, add more veg, maybe some broccoli, and serve it with a nut studded pilaf for a winner meatless meal. As you can see, the options are endless.

Regardless of how you serve it, I recommend a green salad on the side for crisp, refreshing crunch to balance all that savoury richness.

The best sauce ever

For mussels, poultry, veal, pork, or just about anything

8 p+

 2 c mirepoix (1 small onion, 1 stick celery, 1 small carrot, 1 small leek), chopped

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and/or butter

3 strips bacon, chopped

200 g button mushrooms, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp each thyme, fennel seed, chilli flakes

1 bay leaf, 1 clove

1 c white wine

1 L duck or chicken stock (or water), even beef or veal stock

½-1 c heavy cream

3 Tbsp old fashioned mustard or Dijon

s.q. (to taste):

lemon juice

Tabasco or hot sauce

Fresh herbs optional: dill, parsley, chives

Grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper

Sweat vegetables with fat, bacon and mushrooms in a big sauté pan or pot, ok to caramelize slightly too, then add garlic and dry herbs and spices. After a minute or two, pour in wine and reduce down. Add stock and simmer 10 minutes, add cream and reduce slightly, another 10 minutes or more depending on the consistency you desire. Season to taste with mustard and other seasonings. Depending on your stock, how much cream you used, how finely you chopped your veg, your pot and etc, the consistency will vary – you can adjust it by reducing down (watching the taste) or adding a little cornstarch slurry, although I don’t usually find it necessary. If you are using it to sauce fish or meat, then you might want it on the thick side, but if you are using it for mussels, then keep it on the brothy light side, throw your mussels in (make sure your pot is big enough) and crank it for 5 minutes or until they open. Enjoy.

My favorite ways with tomatoes

Tomato salad with crinkleroot oil, smoked sea salt and greens, maybe some cheese or a poached egg to take it up a notch.

-Slice tomatoes, drizzle them with some good olive oil. I use crinkleroot oil (wild horseradish) for its arugula like bite. Sprinkle on some sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, a few chili flakes. Dress the greens the same, but with restraint, adding a splash of a good vinegar like balsamic or sherry. Add some fresh mozzarella or some Reggiano, any good cheese. If I want to make it more substancial, I’ll add a poached egg or some garlic toast, some smoked duck or some lardons.

Fresh tomato salsa, “tortilla soup”, and gaspacho

-Halve and seed tomatoes, squeezing out excess juice, and dice. Add some minced shallot, some freshly chopped coriander, a squeeze of lime and/or red wine vinegar, salt, chili, pure or in the form of tabasco, some olive oil. You might want to add a pinch of sugar depending on your tomatoes.

-When I’m alone, I don’t seed or juice them. It makes for watery salsa, but when I’m done, I have this tasty liquid into which I like to dump all the bits of chips from the bottom of the bowl to make “tortilla soup”. It makes a snack into a meal, perfect for midnight after a shift, in front of the TV.

Fresh tomato sauce

-Generally, I prefer a quick cooked tomato sauce, that has that fresh tomato taste, with lots of olive oil. Sometimes, I’ll pump up the mirepoix (vegetable) ratio, add wine, more seasoning, and cook it longer, if I want something more complex, or if I’m adding meat.

-In any case, start by sweating some onions. I usually add a bit of minced carrot and celery, some red pepper. Then garlic, a touch of white wine, good vinegar or lemon juice. Then the spices. I use chili, fennel seed, thyme and oregano. Then go in the tomatoes. Canned is fine, although I usually use half canned, half fresh. If you don’t like skin, then blanch and peel your tomatoes, seed them if you want. You might not want to use all the juice, especially if you won’t be cooking it long. Stick in a bay leaf, even a cinnamon stick if you’re feeling adventurous (particulary good with a pork based sauce). Simmer for 30 min or 1 hour, longer if you’re doing a big batch. Pull out the aromats, douse with a good measure of good olive oil, salt and pepper, and blend.

-With this base, you can play around.....

-add anchovy, olives and capres

-add bacon and mushrooms, (and cream or not)

-add beans, extra peppers and pork or not, spices (cumin, chili, oregano, thyme, cinnamon)

-add curry, yogurt, shrimp or chicken, coriander and coconut

-add tarragon, lemon and cream for mussels, any seafood or chicken

Roast tomatoes as a topping for fish, pasta, even meat

-Halve tomatoes (preferably Roma), toss with olive oil, garlic cloves, herbs of choice, and roast on a baking tray at 400F for 30 minutes. Pull out, peel off the skins if you want, and serve along with the pan juices to dress up fish, meat, pasta or eggs.

-You can do this over a very low heat (160-200F) for hours, and then you have confit, use in the same way.

Ratatouille

-Degorge (slice and salt) your eggplant for at least half an hour. Wipe dry.

Dice up all your vegetables ( 1 onion, 1 eggplant, 2 zucchini, 1-2 red pepper). Mince up 1 celery stick, a couple of cloves of garlic.

-In your big pot, sweat an onion, add a little minced celery, one or two diced bell peppers. Then goes in some minced garlic, some chili flakes, some cumin seeds, maybe some fennel seeds, some thyme, a little rosemary. Deglaze with a ½ cup or so of red wine, and a good shot of red wine vinegar.

-On the side, in a frying pan, saute your eggplant in a good measure of olive oil, toss into big pot. Sauté zucchini in more olive oil, and add to ratatouille. Add a good pinch of salt, sugar and pepper, and allow to simmer for 30min-1 hour. Throw in some fresh basil, and rectify seasoning.

-serve hot or cold, with couscous, pasta, lamb, sausage, eggs or poultry... anything