The first post of the year! Time for one old lounge-bandicoot to show off his excursions into munchology! Enough of all that. Let’s get to something important… to wit, food! The Possum-Bride has been ‘detoxing’ this January. She’s not allowed dairy foods, alcohol, caffeine, non-organic meat, anything processed… the list is long. And because of this, the Research Division at the Marsupial Kitchen (that’s me, folks!) have had to rustle up some succulent treats and delightful temptations for the poor little Possum-Bride.
Tonight, I have some organic lamb and rosemary sausages, which I’m going to fry and serve with mashed potato (with the skins left on), greens and onion gravy. But alas! I’ve run out of my special, you-beaut, home trademarked and patented Bandicoot Brand Sauce Espagnole. It’s a real bugger, since gravy made with sauce Espagnole is delightful. The English language cannot describe… nay, Dr Dee’s Enochian language could not describe the heavenly, lip-smacking delight that is sauce Espagnole-based gravy. So, I’ll have to make some Instant Espagnole.
Instant Sauce Espagnole
Ingredients
* 1 chopped bacon rasher, ½ sliced onion, ½ diced carrot, ½ diced celery stick, 4 crushed garlic cloves, butter, olive oil * 2 cups chicken stock, ¼ cup semi-dry sherry, 4 tsp tomato paste, ¼ cup tinned mushroom juice * 1 bouquet garni, browned flour, salt and pepper
First, make a mirepoix. Lightly sauté the bacon and onion, with the carrot, celery and garlic in the butter and oil. Set the lot aside. Mix the stock with the sherry, tomato paste and mushroom juice. Add this liquid, the vegetables, a bouquet garni and the water to the mirepoix. Simmer the sauce for an hour Strain the sauce and reduce it to two cups. Thicken the sauce with browned flour, blended with some water and simmer it for twenty minutes. Dress the sauce with a knob of butter, beaten in at the last minute and adjust the seasonings. Makes a little more than two cups. When you have the Sauce Espagnole made, you can use it as a base for gravy or chuck it into a braised dish or a ragout. It will freeze successfully too.
Marsupial Kitchen 