Food & Wine or Bon Appetit, not sure which, recently had a clever and informative short article wherein they revealed, in short blurbs, how several chefs answered a question something along the lines of "What's your secret sauce?" Only, it wasn't really sauce-related, I just can't think how they put it. The point was that so many chefs have some seasoning blend or spice or sauce or some hip-pocket thing they couldn't live without, usually home-made and kept in a jar, always near at hand.
GUILTY. I keep a jar of vinaigrette in the fridge. Almost like a sourdough starter, it's always there and I both take from it and add to it on a fairly constant basis. The original was about 1/3 cider vinegar and 2/3 neutral oil, with plenty of salt and crushed garlic. The oil I drain off tuna (this is the tuna I canned with Tuna Club) goes straight into that vinaigrette jar. Sometimes I feel puckish and add a few herbs. But it's always there, always ready to go.
It's perfect on its own but it's a perfect base for so many other things. I add lemon juice, more garlic and parmesan to bowl of romaine and now I have a caesar. Or I might make a Moroccan cabbage salad, for instance. In the bottom of a bowl I'll add two tablespoons of this dressing, then a tablespoon of mayonnaise and some berbere. Once emulsified, in go handfuls of napa cabbage sliced in a thin chiffonade. The dressing coats the cabbage nicely and the berbere adds a mysterious 'What IS that?' kind of flavor (and heat) with a long, satisfying aftertaste from the fenugreek element. Last night some went into a little bowl with some dried French basil and cherry tomato halves. I let those marinate a bit and then scooped them over grilled halves of endive, and that was our starter salad. That little jar is the lifeblood of my kitchen.
Do you have a 'secret sauce'?
