Table Of ContentRELISH
EASY SAUCES, SEASONINGS AND CONDIMENTS TO MAKE AT HOME
sonia cabano
RELISH
EASY SAUCES, SEASONINGS AND CONDIMENTS TO MAKE AT HOME
RELISH
EASY SAUCES, SEASONINGS AND CONDIMENTS TO MAKE AT HOME
sonia cabano
styling by brita du plessis
photography by sean calitz
Published in 2011 by Struik Lifestyle
(an imprint of Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd )
Company Reg. No. 1966/003153/07
Wembley Square, First Floor, Solan Road, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001
PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
www.randomstruik.co.za
Copyright © in published edition: Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd 2011
Copyright © in text: Sonia Cabano 2011
Copyright © in photographs: Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, digital, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and the copyright holders.
Publisher: Linda de Villiers
Managing editor: Cecilia Barfield
Editor and indexer: Gill Gordon
Designer: Helen Henn
Photographer: Sean Calitz
Food stylist: Britta du Plessis
Stylist’s assistants: Yvette Pascoe and Katherine Freemantle
Proofreader: Bronwen Leak
ISBN: 9781770078673 (print)
ISBN: 9781431700523 (epub)
ISBN: 9781431700530 (pdf)
Shot on location, and equipment supplied by, Plush Props, Old Biscuit Mill, Woodstock.
Also available in Afrikaans as Pikant (ISBN: 9781770078680 druk)
Contents
Introduction 7
Flavoured salts and sugars 8
Dry and moist savoury rubs 24
Marinades 32
Stocks and sauces 44
Pasta sauces 62
Dressings and dips 70
Spice blends and pastes 98
Infused oils and vinegars 120
Home-made dairy products 136
Pickles and preserves 150
Condiments and relishes 170
Index 189
Bibliography 192
Relish – v.t. to like the
taste of: to be pleased with:
to enjoy. – v.i. to have an
agreeable taste: to give
pleasure. – n. an agreeable
peculiar taste or quality:
enjoyable quality: power of
pleasing: inclination or taste
for: appetite: just enough to
give a flavour: a sauce.
Introduction
Capturing and enhancing flavour has preoccupied passionate cooks throughout the ages, and the
methods employed are as popular today as ever: salting, pickling, smoking, drying, preserving in brine,
alcohol, sugar or oil, or simply seasoning with aromatic rubs, pastes, marinades and dressings. A well-
stocked larder speaks of the highest level of a cook’s craft, of knowing how to enhance flavour naturally
and how to preserve the fruits of the harvest from one season to the next.
No cook means to serve bland or indifferent food. This book is intended as a handy guide for anyone
who cares about their palate, their wallet and their health. Home-made preparations are usually
less pricey than store-bought ones and are certainly free from harsh-tasting and unnecessary fillers,
additives, colourants or chemical preservatives. Using a few easily obtainable pieces of equipment, plus
the best ingredients you can find and some common sense and skill, you can liven up your everyday
cooking with the marvellous bounty which nature blesses us with throughout the year.
You will reap other rewards too: as your palate adjusts to the purity and freshness of home-made
preparations, you’ll start enjoying time spent cooking and eating. An added bonus is that all the recipes
make superb gifts, so you’ll be twice blessed for your labours!
Ever since I was a child in my mother’s kitchen I have been fascinated by the craft of preserving
foods. I love to imagine how, through the generations, countless hours have gone into perfecting a
luscious preserve or a seductive spice blend with which to please and nourish someone else.
The recipes on these pages embody many years of accumulated knowledge, both my own, through
experimentation, and that of others, which they have passed on to me. Some dishes and recipes are
seemingly imprinted into my cultural DNA, while others are based on careful research into the work of
fellow cooks who are equally filled with a passion for flavour and for making the most of food.
Writing this book has given me great pleasure, and I hope that you will thoroughly enjoy using it.
7
introduction
flavoured salts and sugars
Salt and sugar, two of the most important flavour enhancers processes that occur during food preparation and cooking.
in your kitchen, complement each other by contrast. Just Salt and sugar are absorbent and carry other flavours very
as a judicious pinch of salt heightens the sweetness of well, which makes experimenting with your own sweet or
say, a fluffy meringue or richly golden caramel sauce, so savoury blends heaps of fun.
a spoonful of sugar stirred into a savoury soup or stew Whether you stick to simple pairings, such as plain
towards the end of cooking will bring about an indefinable, celery salt or cinnamon sugar, or concoct heady, complex
but well-rounded, balance. blends with exotic ingredients like ginger, vanilla and
Salt and sugar lessen bitterness and acidity in food. lime, start by making small amounts until you hit upon
They draw moisture to the surface before and during your own master blends.
cooking, and both play a key role in browning, an intricate And remember, everyone’s taste buds are unique. It’s
process that creates rich, complex flavours in grilled, up to you to tweak your favourite recipes to get the exact
roasted, fried or baked foods. Salt and sugar also act as balance that satisfies you. Turn up the heat or bring the
preservatives, inhibiting certain bacterial or enzymatic salt content down … Feel free to experiment!
3 COOK’S NOte: If you live in a humid area or near the coast, you can prevent your dry seasoning blends from
clumping by adding 1⁄2 t (2.5ml) rice flour to every cup (250ml) of seasoning. Mix well before storing in an airtight
container. Alternatively, just crush the salt mix again with your pestle and proceed as usual.
