Sauces

Back to Recipes

Artichoke Pasta Sauce

- from The McDougall Quick and Easy cookbook

1/2 cup water
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 16 oz. can water-packed artichoke hearts, drained
1/8 cup sliced black olives (optional)
2 15-oz cans fat free pasta sauce
1 tsp dill weed

Place the water in a saucepan with the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Back to Top

Peanut Sauce

This is a peanut sauce that the students made to accompany their Vietnamese spring rolls, actually this is a pretty versatile sauce that can be used in a lot of dishes like stir-fry, noodle dishes, or as a condiment dipping sauce.

1 1/8 cup rice wine vinegar
10 1/2 oz creamy peanut butter
1 1/8 cup soy sauce
6 oz brown sugar
2 oz ginger root ground
1 oz garlic minced
2 1/2 oz lime juice
1/8 oz cilantro chopped

Place all ingredients into a blender and mix til smooth.

Note: solid ingredients are measured by weight.

Yield: 1 1/2 quarts

Back to Top

Creamy Garlic Basil Sauce

3 oz garlic ground
6 oz shallots ground
1 cup water (to deglaze)
1 qt soy milk
12 oz silken tofu creamed very smooth
1 1/2 T salt
1/4 tsp black pepper (or white pepper)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup cornstarch slurry 50/50 ratio
1/2 cup fresh basil sliced

Saute garlic and shallots and stir continually until lightly golden. Deglaze with 1 cup water. Add soy milk and tofu. Whisk continually and bring to a simmer. Add salt pepper and lemon juice and cook for 2 minutes continually stirring. Add slurry to thicken. Add basil and stir in.

Note: Slurry - is a term used for a thickener. Use 1/2 cup corn starch to 1/2 cup of cool water and mix well. This is the liquid you will add to the sauce to thicken it. It will only become thick when the sauce returns to a simmer and the cornstarch is activated. It is the higher temperature that activates the slurry. This is a good all purpose thickener you can use in other sauces and soups.

When sautéing the onions and garlic, they will form a brownish tan deposits on the bottom of the pan. This is referred to as the "Fond" and is good for the flavor. When you add the liquid to the pan it lifts this form the pan and will be flavor and some times color to your sauce. This is also known as "Deglazing."

Back to Top

Basil and Pine Nut Pesto

1/2 cup peeled garlic
2 cups pine nuts
6 cups packed chopped basil
3 T lemon juice
3 T nutritional yeast
2 cups vegetable stock or water (approx)
salt to taste

Add all ingredients, except liquid and salt, to food processor.

Note: You may only be able to fit half of the basil in the processor at a time. Just blend in until it chops down and makes room for the rest of the basil.

Add 1 cup of water and run processor. Add liquid until you reach a thick paste like consistency. Add salt, blend and check taste again.

Back to Top

- from The New McDougall Cookbook

- submitted by Ann Esselstyn

6 to 8 large ripe tomatoes (about 4 to 4 1/2 pounds)
6 to 8 cloves garlic
2 to 3 Tbsp soy sauce (you can use a little salt if you don't like soy sauce or eliminate it)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 to 2 Tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch mixed with 2 to 3 Tbsp cold water (this is optional)
1/2 cup packed, chopped fresh basil (this is for the superb taste of fresh!)

Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for about a minute, then immerse in cold water to remove skins. Chop the peeled tomatoes into large chunks and put in a large skillet or saucepan. Squeeze the garlic through a garlic press into the skillet with the tomatoes. Mash the tomatoes with a potato masher; don't puree them. Add the soy sauce or salt, crushed red pepper and freshly ground black pepper. Bring this to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the thickening agent if using and stir until thickened to your liking. Stir in the basil and serve at once over any of your favorite pastas.

Back to Top