Sauces

Cilantro/ Almond Aioli

-1 egg

- 4 tablespoon of olive oil

-1 small garlic clove

-1 cup of cilantro

-1/4 cup of roasted almonds

-1/3 cup of vegetable oil

-3 tablespoon of lime

salt and pepper

Mix egg, olive oil, garlic, cilantro, and roasted almond in a blender. Blend until smooth. Slowly drizzle in canola oil until thick.

Squeeze teaspoon of lime. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and continue to blend until mixed.

Green Salsa for Meat/ Fish/ Chicken 

This salsa goes well with just about everything. After preparing meat/ chicken or fish by flavoring with olive oil, salt and pepper and cooking, spread this salsa on top and you have an extremely flavorful, summer dish. 

The salsa also goes well on potatoes and grilled veggies. 

-1 cup of cilantro

-1 cup of parsley

-1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard

-1 ½ tablespoons of drained capers

-1 lemon juiced

-1 tablespoon of olive oil

-1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar

-3/4 cup of vegetable oil

-Pinch of salt and pepper

Add all ingredients into a blender except for vegetable oil. Start the blender and slowly drizzle the vegetable oil through the hole on the top. You may need to stop the blender and push down the ingredients with a spatula. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ginger Miso Dressing

-1/2 yellow onion, diced

-1 tablespoon of fresh ginger

-4 ounces of miso paste

-2/3 cup of rice vinegar

-1 tablespoon soy sauce

-1 ½ tablespoons of lemon juice

-3 tablespoons of canola oil

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium. Sauté the onions until they look translucent, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add ginger and continue to cook for about 25 minutes. Onions will begin to turn into a golden mush. Take them off the heat and allow them to cool.

Transfer into a cook processor. Add miso paste, vinegar, soy sauce and lemon juice. Slowly drizzle in oil, until it forms a paste like consistency. 

Greek Sauce

-2/3 cup roasted pine nuts

-2 tablespoons of fresh mint leaves

-3/4 cup of fresh parsley leaves

-1 garlic clove

-1/2 of a 17.6 oz. of Greek yogurt

-2 tablespoons of olive oil

-2/3 cup of vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

Roast the pin nuts in a pan over low heat for about 5 minutes or until they look golden brown. Add all the ingredients in the blender except for vegetable oil. Start the blender and slowly drizzle the vegetable oil through the whole on the top. You may need to stop the blender and push down the ingredients with a spatula. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Homemade BBQ sauce

Inspired by watching several food network shows on BBQ

-2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

-1 onion, chopped

-1 garlic clove, minced

-1 cup of water

-2 cups of ketchup

-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

-5 tablespoons of light brown sugar

-1/2 tablespoon of spicy Dijon mustard

-1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

-1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Want spicier sauce? Add crushed red pepper

Freshly ground black pepper

In a medium pot heat butter over medium flame and add onions. Cook onions for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer into a food processor and blend until it forms a paste.

Return onion mixture back into the pot and mix in the remaining ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered for about an hour.

Note: I rarely cook with butter for health reasons, but when I do, I tend to use unsalted butter. This allows you to control the saltiness of your food.

Healthier option: use olive oil instead of butter.

 

Homemade Pesto

-      - 2 cups of fresh basil

-      - ½ cup of freshly grated Romano cheese

-      - 1/3 cup of walnuts, pine nut, almonds, macadamia, virtually any nut. If using pine or macadamia nuts, roast them in a pan until golden

-      - 2 garlic cloves, minced

-      - Juice of ½ lemon

-      - Teaspoon of lemon zest

-      - ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

-      - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes- if you want spice

Blend all of the ingredient in a food processor, slowly drizzling olive oil through the whole in the lid. 

Marinara

I grew up in a very catholic family. That's generally the first question people tend to ask when I tell them I have close to 30 aunts and uncles and over 60 first cousins. My mom’s family is Lebanese and my dad’s is American, or somewhat of nomads seeing as how they grew up in Spain, married into a Spanish family and are now scattered around the world. My grandparents on both sides of my family ended up in the quaint town of Camden, South Carolina.  I have grown up driving the 7-½ hours to Camden about twice a year. We spend those weeks together eating enough food to feed a small army and catching up on the, mere but everlasting, 6 months we have spent apart. In a Lebanese family we are taught to cherish 3 things: family, religion and, of course, food.

So what does this have to do with marinara? Well, in the mist of all the kibbeh, Lebanese rice, rolled grape leaves, and mishca (not sure of the spelling), my Italian uncle steals a night to make his famous pasta with marinara. Being a pasta lover, I would always look forward to Uncle Michael’s night to cook. God forbid he reveals his treasured family recipe. Instead, I tried to imitate it. I don't doubt that I am off, but I do know that this sauce is delicious. Enjoy!

-2 onions, finely chopped

-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

-2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

-2 carrots, finely chopped

-1/2 cup of white button mushrooms, sliced

-1 dry bay leaf

-2 (32-ounce) cans of crushed tomatoes

-1 teaspoon oregano

-1 teaspoon of sugar

-1/2 - 1 teaspoon of sea salt

-1/2 teaspoon pepper

-Red pepper flakes (if you desire spice)

-1/3 cup of olive oil

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high. Add onions and sauté until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, celery, carrots and mushrooms. Sauté until the vegetables are soft and mushrooms have released their juices. Add the tomato, bay leaf, oregano, sugar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered over low-heat for about 1 hour. Remove bay leaf. Blend if you would like a smooth sauce without vegetable chucks. Otherwise, taste and season with more salt or pepper if desired.

Note: the flavor of the sauce will only get better with time. Feel free to make it the night before or a few days before and freeze. This will make cooking your meal much easier and the sauce better.

Miso-Soy Sauce:

This sauce is great on fish. I use it as a dipping sauce for one of my fish finger foods. Spice up any fish or chicken with this sauce. Simply add olive oil, salt and pepper to fish or chicken. Grill or bake. When it is ready, spread sauce on top. 

-4 ounces miso paste

-2/3 cup of rice vinegar

-1 tablespoon sesame oil

-1 tablespoon of soy sauce

-Sriracha paste (amount depends on desired heat)

-2 cups of extra virgin olive oil

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a food processor. Once thoroughly combined, slowly whisk in the olive oil.

Smoked Salmon Sauce

-3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard

-1 teaspoon of sugar

-1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar

-1 tablespoon of dill

Pinch of salt and pepper

Put mustard in a bowl and whisk all of the ingredients together.

Labneh (Lebanese Yogurt Sauce)

-2 cups of greek yogurt 

-2 tablespoons lemon juice

-3 cloves are garlic, finely chopped

-1 tablespoon dried mint

Mix all the ingredients together. Enjoy!