Category: sauces

Mushroom Cream Sauce, lactose-free

I’ve used this sauce in my Mushroom, Turkey and Hot Italian Sausage Lasagna, as well as in crepes.  Of course you can use real milk or even a little cream if you can handle the real stuff!

What you need:

15-20 mushrooms

2 cloves finely chopped garlic

1/4-1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter or dairy-free “butter” or margarine

1/4 cup flour

2 cups soy milk

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Clean mushrooms by rubbing with a damp cloth, then slice into pieces about 2 mm thick.

2. Add butter to a large frying pan on medium-high heat.  In small batches add the mushrooms, and after a few minutes of cooking, add a splash of wine.  Cook mushrooms until both sides have browned.  In the last batch of mushrooms add the garlic and cook as you did the others.

3.  Heat the soy milk.

4.  Heat 1/4 cup butter/substitute in a pot.  Add the flour and cook, stirring, for a few minutes.  Very gradually add the soy milk – add a little, then stir until incorporated into the flour mixture.  Continue adding the milk gradually, until it has been incorporated.  Add a splash or two of wine and continue to stir.  If it’s very thick, add a little more soy milk or wine.

5.  Season with salt and and quite a bit of pepper.

Turkey and Hot Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce

Here’s a tomato sauce you can use for spaghetti or lasagna – I made it up to go in my Mushroom, Turkey and Hot Italian Sausage Lasagna.  It’s pretty easy to make, and just requires a bit of cooking time.

What you need:

3 spicy italian sausages

400 to 500 grams ground turkey

1 -796 mL can crushed tomatoes

1 -796 mL can chopped tomatoes

1 onion

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup white wine

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar, or to taste

a few shakes of chili flakes

salt and pepper

What you do:

1.  Remove casings from the sausages, then cook them in a large pot until the meat is no longer pink, adding the turkey meat and chopped garlic part way through.  Break up large pieces of meat and remove excess fat.

2.  Add the canned tomatoes, the whole onion, garlic cloves, wine, bay leaf, olive oil or butter and chili flakes to the meat.  Cook on low heat for about an hour, or more if you’ve got the time.

3.  Remove the onion and bay leaf, and add the brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Feel free to make a big batch and freeze part of it.

Vegan Caesar Salad Dressing

A creamy dressing that’s also vegan – yum!

What you need:

2/3 cup soft Silken Tofu

3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/3 cup lactose-free parmesan or soy parmesan

1/4 teaspoon sugar or agave nectar

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 clove chopped garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil (or more as needed)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

What you do:

1.  Blend all the ingredients using a blender or immersion blender.  Add a little more olive oil if it’s too runny.

2.  Refrigerate for an hour or two, if you’ve got the time, to let the flavours mingle.

3.  Toss with romaine and top with croutons.  Serve with a wedge of lemon for squeezing on top.

And here’s a crouton recipe:

For 2 servings you need:

2 slices bread

olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon sage

1/4 teaspoon oregano

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Cut the bread into cubes.  Heat a frying pan to medium, then add a little olive oil.  Once the oil is hot add the bread, tossing until coated.  Add a little more olive oil if necessary.

2.  Chop up the garlic, and add to the frying pan, along with the spices.

3.  When the bread has browned on one side, turn it over and let the other side brown.

4.  Throw it on top of your dressed salad, scraping out the spices with it.

Easy Pesto

Here’s your basic pesto recipe.  You just need a food processor or mortar and pestle, some lovely fresh ingredients, and you’re set!

What you need:

1/4 cup very lightly toasted pine nuts

3/4 – 1 cup basil

1/2 clove of garlic

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan (I use lactose-free l’Ancetre brand)

olive oil

salt

What you do:

1.  Toast your pine nuts very very lightly; you still want them to be creamy when you puree them.

2. Place the pine nuts, basil,  and garlic and a bit of salt in the food processor and add as much olive oil  as you need to make it smooth.  Then add the parmesan and give it one last whirl.

3.  That’s it – use it on some pasta, add it to hummous, make a lasagna, add it to eggs, whatever you want!

The Easiest Tomato Sauce Ever

Here’s a tasty tomato sauce, and really really easy – thanks Chad for the recipe!  I made it to use in a lasagna, and it was fabulous . . . I would imagine there are many other uses for it.

What you need:

1 – 750   mL tin whole tomatoes

1/2 onion

1/4 cup butter

salt and pepper

What you do:

1.  Put the onion and butter in a pot with the tomatoes and cook for 45 minutes or so.

2.  Take out the onion, season with salt and pepper, and voila, a fabulous sauce.

For the lasagna I pureed the tomatoes, and I added about a teaspoon of brown sugar.

Yogurt Cheese

Yogurt cheese is a great versatile spread, and it’s really easy to make.  I usually use it as a spread for crackers or bread, as in the recipe below, and it can also be used as a substitute for cream cheese or sour cream in a lot of other recipes.  I’ve never tried baking with it though – I’m not sure how it would react when heated.  As a person who is lactose-intolerant but can eat yogurt, this recipe has been a god-send!

I like to sprinkle sumac on my yogurt cheese.  I’ve never seen it in my local grocery store, but I found it at a Lebanese shop.  It’s got a bit of a tartness to it that goes perfectly with yogurt, and it’s got a great deep red colour.

What you need:

plain yogurt, must not be no- or low-fat or thickened with corn starch!

salt

ground sumac

cheesecloth

sieve

bowl

What you do:

1. Line a sieve with cheesecloth, and place it in a bowl.  Pour the yogurt into it, then tie up the cloth and place in the fridge.  About half the liquid will drain out, so use about twice as much yogurt as you would like to have at the end.

2.  Leave several hours, up to a day or two – I usually leave it draining for just less than a day.  You may need to pour off some of the liquid that collects in the bowl.

3.  Place yogurt cheese in a bowl and top with sumac and salt. Of course you can also substitute any of your favourite herbs – I’ve used garlic salt before, and a bit of oregano.

4.  Serve with naan, flatbread, crackers or any bready substance of your choice.  It can also be used as a vegetable dip.

I make my own yogurt – it’s easy to do, and really cheap… stay tuned for that posting.