A Second Life for Your Favorite Sauce
My colleague Tiffany Hopkins recently wrote about riffing on a basic sauce until it tastes like you want it to taste. And that's a good move, whether you're making pesto, peanut sauce, or salsa. But the trouble is, when you go around adding a bit of this and a touch more of that, you could end up with more sauce that you really need.
But that's no reason to toss the remaining sauce once you're done dolloping it on top of your dinner. Even just a tablespoon of leftover sauce—or extra dip like hummus or romesco—can be a great start to the next night's salad dressing.
Herby, spicy chermoula is more than just a finishing sauce. It's a marinade, a dressing, a dip—and the key that unlocks a million weeknight dinners.
A typical vinaigrette starts with one part vinegar or lemon juice to three parts olive oil. For a more tart dressing (which is what I prefer) that ratio is more like one part vinegar to two parts oil. Other common add-ins: a squirt of mustard, minced shallots, honey, and all manner of variations on those ingredients.
And what is a sauce made of? There's likely some oil and some acid and some aromatics like herbs or onions. It's probably not quite as tart as a great salad dressing—and that's why it's easy to turn a sauce into salad dressing. Take a few tablespoons of yogurt sauce and thin it out with a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of oil. Whisk it all together. Is it still thicker than your ideal salad dressing? Add in more lemon juice (don't forget to toss in a pinch of salt too). Add in a sprinkling of dill (dried or fresh) and some granulated garlic and you've basically made homemade ranch.
Same goes for pesto or chermoula. Except those sauces start out with a bit more oil, so you'll probably want to skip the extra fat and just thin them out with lemon juice or red wine vinegar. Is it already as tart as you'd like it? Just add a bit of water. (Yep, water! Again, a pinch of salt helps too.) Whisk to emulsify, then toss in your greens and cucumbers and cherry tomatoes and feta or whatever. Or add it to grains for a grain salad to serve on the side of a roast chicken dinner.
Can hummus really become a salad dressing? You bet it can. Think of your hummus like a softer, mellower, slightly nutty sub for the mustard you'd find in a typical vinaigrette. It'll help emulsify a bit of lemon juice and olive oil—you may want to balance it with a little date honey or pomegranate molasses if you'd like a touch of sweetness.
As for cheese sauce...maybe save that one for the chips.
Mixed Greens With Yogurt Dressing And Dill
Bon Appétit
Originally Appeared on Epicurious
