Easy miso sauce for noodles

For ➍ 

1 heaping tbs white miso paste 

1 tbs plain peanut butter or Chinese sesame paste 

1 tbs toasted sesame oil 

½ tbs chili garlic sauce, adjust according to desired spice 

½ tb soy sauce 

1 ts dark soy sauce, optional for colour 

½ tbs maple syrup or other sweetener like mirin

½ tbs rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar 

1 ts minced garlic 

1 scallion chopped 

Mix everything together. Add to the boiled and drained noodles.

Tortiglioni con carciofi (pasta with artichokes)

For ➍
350 g tortiglioni*
4 fresh artichokes**
2 tbs unsalted butter
10 cl dry white wine
vegetable bouillon cube
2 cloves garlic
juice of ½ lemon***
5 cl extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs parsley
salt & pepper
Parmigiano cheese****

Set pasta water to boil. Clean the artichokes, stripping off the outer leaves and removing the fuzz from the choke if need be, and then slice them, putting the pieces in a bowl of water acidulated with the lemon juice as you go, to keep them from darkening.

Heat the oil and butter, sauté the garlic for a few minutes. Add the drained artichokes. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, add the wine and the bouillon cube, cover, and simmer for about 30 m. Add more liquid if the sauce appears to be drying out.*****

Meanwhile, cook the pasta, season it with the sauce, and serve (with Parmesan cheese****).

*Or any other short tubed pasta.
**Use thawed and cleaned artichokes instead.
***Only when using fresh artichokes.
****Optional.
*****Use a mix of artichoke hearts and canned tomatoes instead. Simmer for 20 m.

Battuto for meat stew or soup

For ➍
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 tbs celery leaves, chopped
1 tbs parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbs chopped pork*
olive oil

Mix and brown in hot olive oil. 
Use as a base for a meat stew, or add some more vegetables and broth to make a soup.

*Optional.

In Roman cooking, a battuto is an initial preparation, that can be developed into a sauce, a stew or a soup. This basic battuto works also well a pasta sauce.
The ingredients are flexible, as in an Italian fish parcel.
The minestra col battuto soup uses a finely cut battuto, with onion, celery, garlic and a bit of parsley and basil added for more flavour. Read the Lazio variation.

Pasta battuto (pasta with Ligurian pine nut sauce)

For ➍
100 g crushed pine nuts
2 sprigs of marjoram
50 g Parmigiano
pinch of salt
extra virgin olive oil
a little milk

Blend the ingredients, just adding enough olive oil and milk to make the mixture smooth.
Cook the pasta as usual and mix in the fresh sauce when it's ready. Use a roughly textured pasta with battuto.
Serve pasta battuto with a fresh salad. (Or eat it first and follow it with the salad).

Liguria is the Italian Riviera, with San Remo as main attraction. This battuto is close to pesto, and quite different from the traditional battuto, used in Roman cooking, an initial preparation, that can be developed into a sauce, a stew or a soup, like the Lazio minestra col battuto alla romana. Read a related Ligurian recipe, pasta with walnuts sauce.

Pistou

For ➍
2 cloves garlic
1 nice handful basil leaves
3 to 4 tbs olive oil
salt & pepper
1-2 tbs grated cheese (f.i. Gruyère)*

Peel the cloves of garlic. Cut them in half, then put them in a mortar. Start pounding.
Add the basil leaves little by little while continuing to pound until you get an ointment.
Add the finely grated cheese*, if you have chosen to use it, while continuing to pound.
Add olive oil always by continuing to pound, you must keep this consistency of ointment, it should not be bathed in oil.
Pistou can be used in the famous soup with pesto, or in sauce in a pasta dish, or as such on grilled toast as an aperitif.
For preservation, you can completely freeze the pesto, the easiest remaining in ice cube trays.The advantage is the ease of dosing without having to thaw everything. Garlic loses some of its strength after thawing however.

*Optional

Peri peri sauce

For ➍
1 red onion
4 cloves garlic chopped
1-2 bird's-eye peri peri peppers, chopped
2 tbs sweet, smoked paprika powder
4 tbs white wine vinegar
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
grated zest plus the juice of 2 lemons
pinch salt & pepper
small bunch basil

Mix the ingredients. Add a little water and chop finely.
You can then let the chicken marinate in the sauce for a while, before you roast it in the oven. If you use chicken thighs, you can first grill them in a grill pan and then bake them in a large baking dish together with the marinade in a hot oven at 200°C for 10 m.

Serve with chicken f.i.

Deer with celeriac mash & endives

For ➍
600 g deer fillets
20 g butter
8 stalks witloof, cleaned
1 celeriac, cut into chunks
200 g potatoes, cut into chunks (or about the same weight as the cleaned celeriac.)
sauce chasseur

Prepare the sauce chasseur without the adding of gravy or wine. Set aside.
Cook the potatoes and celeriac for 20 m. When cooked, add 1 tbs of butter. Make a mash. Set aside.
Brown the deer fillets for 20 m in a stove-top pan with some butter on high fire. Reduce fire, cover the pan, and bake for 20-25 m. Cover and let rest for 15 m.
Add gravy and wine to the sauce. Set aside.
Meanwhile, braise the endives with a little butter for 5-10 m. Keep warm.
Reheat the mash just before serving.
Cut the meat. Serve the meat with the sauce, the mash and endives.

Sauce chasseur (red wine sauce)

For ➍-➏
60 g (6 tbs) butter
60 g (6 tbs) flour
3.5 dl stock
2 slices bacon, cut
1 onion, cut
1 carrot, cut*
1 celery branch*
pili pili, chilli or pepper
1 dl gravy
1 dl red wine
3 tbs red currant jelly**

Make a roux of the flour and butter.
Baste the bacon, onion, carrot and celery. Add to the roux. Add pili-pili.
Finish with roasting gravy, red wine and jelly.

*Traditionally with mushrooms.
**Optional.

Halloumi salad with sweet chilli sauce

For ➋
3 fresh red chilli peppers
2 tbs liquid honey
1 lime, halved
1 block of halloumi 225 g
salad leaves of your choice
extra virgin olive oil to taste

Cut 2 chillies with seeds into rings. Remove the seeds from the third and cut the pepper into small pieces (this to get the full sharpness, remove if desired more seeds). Put the peppers in a small pan with a thick bottom, together with the honey, and squeeze 1 ts lime juice from a lime half on top. Put the pan on the smallest pit of the stove and bring the contents to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 4 m. Stir frequently and keep an eye on the pan, otherwise the contents will foam over the edge. Remove the pan from the heat.
Put a few salad leaves on 2 plates and pour as much oil as you want.
Cut the unused lime half into pieces and if desired place a piece on each plate.
Cut the block halloumi into 8 pieces. Heat a frying pan of cast iron or with a thick bottom. Put the slices in the hot pan and fry them without oil for 30-60 s, until the bottom has brown stripes. Turn the slices over and bake the other side until it is brown.
Put the halloumi on the lettuce and spoon the lipstick red chunks of chilli in their honey glaze over the cheese. Eat the dish immediately.

A more modest version without sauce.

Okonomiyaki sauce

For ➍
4 tbs ketchup
1½ Worcestershire sauce
¼ ts mustard
1 tbs rice cooking wine or sake
1 ts soy sauce
1 tbs honey (use 2 if you like a sweeter sauce)
⅛ ts ground ginger

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and let simmer for 3 to 5 m, until smooth and thick.
Serve with okonomiyaki.

Chokotoff sauce

For ➍
150 g chokotoffs, crudely chopped*
a bit of milk or cream*

Put the chokotoffs in a microwave safe jug.
Add a bit of milk or cream.
Put in the microwave for 3 m at 650 W.
Serve hot with ice cream, or as a topping over tiny crèpes with ice cream.

*Alternatively, mix 150 g of chopped chokotoffs, 1 chopped bar of dark chocolate, 10 cl fresh cream and a pinch of salt in a small pan. Melt everything on low heat. Serve with ice cream.

'Chokotoff' (from 'chocolate' and 'toffee', and a wordplay on the Brussels' 'tof', meaning 'great!') is a Belgian sweet, invented in 1934 by famous Belgian chocolate-makers Côte d'Or. It has a half-soft caramel inside, covered in crispy dark chocolate. Each piece is wrapped as a small present, featuring the Côte d'Or elephant. It is a national institution, and the news that production would move from Belgium to Lithuania caused quite a stir. New owners, Kraft Foods, and Mondelèz  introduced a milk chocolate version, a white chocolate version (abandoned) , and a choco spread with the same taste (abandoned) .
Read another Côte d'Or chocolate inspired dessert: parfait glacé Dessert 58.

Teriyaki sauce & glace

For ➍
18 cl soy sauce
18 cl mirin (rice wine)
100 g sugar (white or brown)*
1 ts finely minced garlic (optional)
1 ts finely minced ginger (optional)

In a small saucepan bring soy sauce, mirin, sugar, garlic (if using) and ginger (if using) to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, about 10 m. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Use with salmon or chicken, or rice bowl. Use to marinate** or as a glace.
To make a glaze: mix ½ tbs cornstarch with 1 tbs water. Heat sauce on medium high heat and add cornstarch water mixture. Simmer until thickened about 1 m.

*Classic teriyaki sauce is made of equal parts sake, mirin and soy sauce. It can be adjusted with some sugar, if needed.
**Most Japanese recipes, s.a. for salmon, don't marinate the fish, just brush it.

Spaghetti with avocado sauce

For ➍
170 g spaghetti
1 avocado,pitted & peeled
½ garlic clove, smashed
½ bunch scallions, roughly chopped
juice of ½ lemon
5 cl extra-virgin olive oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup chopped parsley, for garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, 6 to 8 m.
While the pasta cooks, make the sauce: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the avocados, garlic, scallions, lemon juice and olive oil until smooth.
When the pasta is tender, reserve 5 cl of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the reserved water to the avocado mixture and process until smooth.
Add the sauce to the pasta and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, portion the pasta onto plates and garnish with parsley.

Boulets liègeoises Lequet (Liège meatballs)

For ➓ meatballs
1 kg of minced pork & beef [avoid to mince the meat too finely].
2 eggs
15 cl milk
½ onion
300 g bread crumbs (or chapelure)
beef fat

1 liter of sauce:
100 g onions
100 g sugar
10 cl white vinegar
400 g Sirop de Liège [*never use a syrup with other ingredients than apples and/or pears]
salt & pepper
½ bay leaf
1 l water
200 g of white roux

Mix the ingredients for the balls. Roll balls with your hands. Dip the balls in beef fat at 160°C for about 15 m. [Caution: do not use the same grease for the frites].
For the sauce, mix all ingredients. Cook 45 m. When the sauce comes to a boil, lower the heat and wait 10 m. Remove the sauce from the heat, and bind with the roux. Pour the balls into the sauce. [The sauce is less liquid on the second day and often better].
Serve with real frites, fresh mayonnaise and a blond Belgian beer.

This is the way Café Lequet serves its famous boulets. Some cooks prefer to cook the balls in the oven. Try this with this sauce with some flour added.

Gremolada

For ➍
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbs grated (untreated) lemon zest*
1 bunch parsley, chopped

Finely chop garlic, mix with lemon zest and chopped parsley.
Serve with ossobuco.

*Use other citrus zests instead.

Rouille

For ➍
for the rouille:
1 egg yolk
1 tbs harissa*
2 cloves garlic
10 cl olive oil

Beat the egg yolk and harissa.
Add olive oil in small nets until a good consistency of mayonnaise is reached. Mix in the finely minced garlic and continue beating until you get a smooth, thick rouille.
Serve with bouillabaisse.

*Replace harissa by fresh peppers, chopped.

Pomarola (Tuscan tomato sauce)

For ➍
1 kg plum tomatoes, cored & chopped*
1 clove of garlic
1 stick of celery
1 small carrot
½ medium onion
bunch of parsley
1 fresh or dried hot pepper, ribbed & seeds discarded**
olive oil
salt & pepper
½ ts sugar**
bunch of basil

Place the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, pepper, cut up tomatoes, and parsley in a pot, add just a few drops of water. Simmer till the tomatoes begin to fall apart.***

After cooking, crank the pomarola through a food mill, discarding the skins and seeds. Or puree the sauce in a food processor. (Add some sugar to counter the tartness of the tomato skins.)**

Check the seasoning.

Return the sauce to the fire until it has thickened somewhat, and a drop put on a plate no longer gives off a huge watery halo (depending on how watery the sauce was to begin with, this can take up to 1 h).

When the sauce is done, stir in the basil leaves and turn off the heat.

Transfer the sauce at once to clean sterile jars, sealing each from the air by pouring a thin layer of olive oil over the sauce. Screw the lids onto the jars, and once they have cooled, refrigerate them.

Use 10 cl of pomarola and 125 g pasta per serving.

After you've cooked and drained the pasta, stir in the pomarola and a dab of butter, then serve it with freshly grated Parmigiano.

*Or use canned plum tomatoes.

**Optional.

***The other vegetables might be sautéed, diminishing the tomato flavour. Mince the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, red pepper, and parsley. Sauté them in 8 cl of olive oil. Meanwhile, core and cut up the tomatoes. As soon as the onion has turned translucent, add the tomatoes and 1 ts of salt to the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, till the tomatoes begin to fall apart.

****For a variation, heat the pomarola over the stove. For 4, stir in 10 cl of fresh cream when it begins to bubble. When the sauce is heated through, use it to season your pasta, turning it pink or rosé.

Read a quick version of penne rosé.

No-cook pasta sauce

For ➊
tomatoes*
olive oil
fresh basil, mint or parsley
garlic clove
Parmigiano or pecorino cheese**
salt & pepper

Chop tomatoes, mix with olive oil, chopped fresh basil, mint, or parsley, season with salt and pepper and a bit of chopped garlic (or 2 bruised garlic cloves, remove before serving).

Let rest at room temperature for 30 m to let flavors meld.

Cook pasta in well-salted water, drain, do not rinse, combine with sauce, and toss well.

Add cheese. Toss again, and check seasoning.

Serve on warm (not hot) plates.

*Or dice very ripe tomatoes. Chop some fresh rucola. Toss this and some toasted pine nuts with hot pasta; grind over some pepper. Squeeze a garlic clove. Top with grated pecorino or Parmigiano.
**Use softer cheeses like fresh mozzarella, brie, goat or feta cheese, they will meld into the hot pasta, making for a luxurious texture.

Read the similar Sophia Loren raw tomato sauce or cold tomato sauce.

Pico de Gallo

For ➍/ 50 cl
4 plum tomatoes, seeded & chopped
3 onions, finely chopped
2 fresh chili peppers, mild or hot, seeded & finely chopped
2 tbs red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1½ ts fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 ts lime juice
salt & pepper

Combine ingredients in a glass bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 m before serving or refrigerate it overnight.
Serve with Che Guevara's ceviche or another ceviche. Or with grilled tuna or salmon.

In 1953, the Mexican communist painter Frida Kahlo painted this Naturaleza Muerta Con Sandias (Still Life with Watermelon), coming close to the ingredients of a pico de gallo, combining fruit and peppers, in ever changing combinations, depending on the region. Sometimes it is closer to a (fruit) salad than a sauce, especially when the pieces are roughly chopped in not too small pieces. (Artist suggestion from the wonderful Feasting on Art site.)
Try the similar salsa fresca.
Or the green mango variation.

Penne rosé (pasta with creamy tomato sauce)

For ➍ or ➏ as a starter
12,5 cl tomato sauce*
12,5 cl whipping cream
small clove of garlic, chopped
salt & pepper
15 g Parmigiano cheese, grated
400 g penne

Bring the water to the boil, salt it, and add the penne.
Heat the tomato sauce and garlic in a small saucepan. When the pomarola starts to boil, stir in the cream and heat through, being careful not to let the sauce burn. Season it to taste and turn off the heat.
When the pasta's cooked, drain and transfer it to a bowl.
Stir in the sauce and the cheese, and serve.

*Use home made Tuscan pomarola tomato sauce instead of the quick one with butter and onions.