Transform a meal with sauces and dips
The ultimate flavours to grow in small spaces are herbs and garlic, especially parsley, chives, and rocket, and they are very easy to grow. It’s difficult to start a savoury dish without a Tuscan odori once you know how to make one. What do you do when you have a glut, such as just before parsley or rocket flowers? Treat yourself by making sauces and dips.
Storing, roasting and freezing a garlic glut
Whole garlic bulbs will keep for several months at cool room temperature in a dry, dark place with good air circulation. A wire-mesh basket or one placed beneath an overturned clay pot is ideal, as is keeping bulbs in a paper bag, an egg carton, or a mesh bag. Don’t refrigerate or store in plastic.
If you have bulbs left in the new year, and they’re starting to sprout, peel the cloves, and toss them whole in a roasting tin in plenty of olive oil. Roast in a medium oven for 15-20 minutes, or until they lose their firmness. Let them cool, lift out with a slotted spoon and place on a baking tray and freeze, then store in a freezer bag. This should keep you going until the next crop, and it’s especially useful for hardnecks. You’ll find a good selection at DT Brown.
Herbs and garlic – Tuscan odori
Can’t cook? Start savoury dishes with odori. It’s a Tuscan staple of onion, carrot, parsley, garlic, and celery, which forms the basis of sauces, stews, and soups in that part of Italy. The flavours blend perfectly to enhance whatever you choose to put in your pot next.
- 1 onion (or equivalent weight of spring onions)
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 stick of celery
- 1 handful of flat-leaved parsley
- 1-3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Finely chop the carrot, celery, parsley, and onion, and crush the garlic. Fry all ingredients with the oil in a pan over medium heat until soft. After this, add your meat to brown, then any tomatoes and other seasonings. Cook slowly over very low heat until your sauce is concentrated and thick.
Rocket pesto – four variations
I always fail miserably with basil, as it appears to be an aphid magnet. However, rocket is far easier and gives a punchy, peppery pasta or meat sauce. Here are four versions on a theme:
- 60g wild rocket
- 2tbsp toasted pine nuts
- 1/4 cup chopped chives
- Juice of 1 lemon, plus wedges to serve
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
Place rocket, pine nuts, chives and lemon juice in a small food processor and whiz to combine. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream until you get a coarse pesto. Season to taste.
- 600g wild rocket
- 150g ground almonds
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 220g Parmesan
Blend the rocket, garlic, ground almonds and grated Parmesan in a blender. While blending, dribble the olive oil in until the desired consistency is reached. Store in a sterilised jar in the fridge.
- 2 large bunches of rocket, minus stems
- 65g toasted pine nuts
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 4tbsp olive oil
- 2-4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 50g+ grated Parmesan (add to taste)
- Sea salt and black pepper
Toast the pine nuts in a hot, dry pan. Put all of the pesto ingredients into a food processor. Blitz until blended and thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and add Parmesan and balsamic vinegar.
- 60g wild rocket
- 2tbsp toasted pine nuts
- 1/4 cup chopped chives
- Juice of 1 lemon, plus wedges to serve
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
Place rocket, pine nuts, chives and lemon juice in a small food processor and whiz to combine. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream until you get a coarse pesto. Season to taste.
Herbs and garlic – Aubergine and garlic dip
- 1 aubergine
- 3 cloves garlic
- A handful of fresh flat-leafed parsley
- 2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon harissa paste (optional)
- A few drops of extra-virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A few drops of lemon juice
Cut the aubergine in half and steam it in its skin until soft. Put the cooked aubergine (with skin), the parsley, and the remaining ingredients into a blender and blitz until a smooth paste. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Works well with breadsticks or Parmesan cheese thins, or as a base for a pasta sauce. Adding chopped sun-dried tomatoes is a nice alternative.
Smoked feta, courgette and garlic dip
Another attempt to disguise courgettes. Please don’t eat this if you’re going out on a date.
- 6 medium courgettes
- 2-3oz (50-75g) smoked feta cheese (or plain)
- Sea salt and black pepper
- Juice half a lemon (or equivalent bottled)
- A tablespoon or two of extra-virgin olive oil
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, depending on your taste
- Fresh parsley to garnish
Put courgettes in a non-stick bowl and roast them in the oven on medium heat until tender (about 40 minutes). Let them cool overnight in the fridge, then combine with feta, lemon, seasoning, and oil in a food processor. Check the seasoning and add one clove of garlic at a time (don’t overdo it. I did – it ruined a nice dip). Pour into a bowl, and garnish with fresh parsley.
Herbs and garlic – Gremolata (parsley sauce)
This is the traditional accompaniment to Milanese Osso Bucco, which is classically made from lemon zest, garlic, and parsley. Here are two of the many regional variations:
Classic Gremolata
- 2 tbsp minced flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
Mix ingredients in a small bowl with a fork and serve.
Gremolata with anchovies
- Large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 4 anchovies, crushed into a paste
- Tablespoon lemon juice
- Olive oil, to bind together
- 50g (or more if you like) Parmesan or other Italian hard cheese, grated
Combine all the prepared ingredients and chill until needed.
Herbs and garlic – Simple chive butter
Chives are often used in butter, and this one is wonderful to make garlic bread with, or to use on new potatoes.
- 8oz (200g) butter, softened
- 2 small cloves of garlic, minced, or more to taste
- 3 tbsp chopped chives
Cream ingredients together in a bowl, cover and store in the refrigerator for three hours before use. It keeps in the fridge for several days. It freezes, too, but split it up into manageable portions first.
