Red Wine Sauce

A red wine sauce can accompany many dishes, from fritters to steamed vegetables to yorkshire puddings. It's very easy to make, but often brings with it a bit of a 'wow' factor. The taste will depend partly on the type of wine you use, so choose a nice one (although there is no need to go overboard and use a really expensive one).

1 large shallot
knob of butter
500ml - 750ml red wine (depending on whether or not you pour a glass for yourself)
500ml vegetable stock
fresh or dried herbs
salt and pepper
100ml double cream

Finely chop your shallot and sweat it in the butter for 5 minutes until soft and golden. Add the red wine and bring to the boil. Boil for about 30 minutes or until reduced by about half. Add the vegetable stock and again reduce until you've got half the amount of liquid. Add herbs, salt and pepper to taste.

Finally add the cream and whisk it in. You may not need to use all of the cream, this depends on taste and how creamy you want the sauce. You don't even need to add any cream, it works just as well without, although the taste will be sharper and not as rounded as if there was cream in it. Make sure you don't boil the sauce after the cream is added, as the cream will then split.

The sauce can be served as a smooth jus if you pour it through a sieve to remove the shallots. You can alternatively choose to serve it with the bits of shallots in (I like the bits of shallot, they are quite sweet but savoury and add a bit of interest).

Creamy Spinach Sauce

Creamy sauces go with lots of things, like jacket potatoes, pasta, or even in a vegetable pie. I had this sauce with my pasta last night, after a very stressful day at work. And it did the trick, I felt a lot better after some comfort food, curled up on the sofa with my book.

The herbs can be varied, as can the flour, you can use ordinary flour, or gluten free flour, or corn flour … the list goes on and on. This works quite well though, it gives an interesting texture.

Serves 2

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons ground rice

450ml milk

a pinch each of salt and pepper

1 mild green chilli (seeds removed)

80g wensleydale cheese with onion and chives

100g spinach

6 large leaves of fresh basil

1 sprig of fresh thyme

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the ground rice, and stir well. Gradually add the milk and whisk until you have a smooth liquid. Add the salt and pepper to taste, and let the liquid boil for a few minutes so that it thickens. Finely chop the chilli, and remove the seeds (or leave them in if you prefer a hotter taste). Add the chilli to the sauce.

Grate the cheese and add it to the sauce. Add the spinach and herbs a few minutes before the sauce is ready to be served. You don’t want to let the spinach boil for too long, as it looses its texture and becomes soft. If you serve the sauce while the spinach is still slightly crisp it gives a much more interesting texture.

Orange Reduction Sauce

No dinner is complete without a sauce. This one is easy to make, and will cook quietly on its own while you concoct the rest of your meal.

 Serves 2

1 tablespoon butter

1 small onion

2 table spoons flour (I used Doves Farm gluten free plain flour, but you can also use ordinary plain flour)

500 ml orange juice

500 ml vegetable stock

Finely chop the onion, and add to the melted butter. Sauté the onions until soft (about 5 minutes) and add flour. Stir well until all the flour is well mixed in with the onion. Add the orange juice and leave to boil for about 20 minutes or until reduced to half the original amount. Add the vegetable stock, and again boil for about 20 minutes until reduced to half the original amount. Stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the sides of the pan.