Yuzo
Most weeknight cooking, when you strip it down, is a protein and a sauce. The protein is straightforward — you apply heat. The sauce is where dishes differentiate. Learn four sauces and you can improvise almost anything.
1. Pan sauce (10 minutes)
This is the most versatile and the most underused. Every time you cook chicken, steak, or pork in a pan, there is flavour left on the bottom. A pan sauce turns that into a restaurant-quality result.
*Method:* Remove your protein and rest it. With the pan still on medium-high heat, add a liquid (wine, stock, or just water). Scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon — this is called deglazing. Let it reduce by half. Add butter and swirl until the sauce thickens and coats a spoon. Season, add herbs.
*Variations:* White wine + cream + thyme (chicken). Red wine + rosemary (steak). Apple cider + wholegrain mustard + cream (pork).
The formula: deglaze → reduce → finish with fat.
2. Emulsion sauce (5 minutes, no heat)
Emulsions are stable mixtures of oil and an acid (vinegar, lemon juice, or mustard). They coat everything they touch and bring richness without cooking anything.
*Vinaigrette:* 3 parts oil to 1 part acid, plus a teaspoon of Dijon mustard (which helps emulsification). Whisk or shake. Season. That is it.
*Tahini sauce:* Tahini, lemon juice, garlic, water. Whisk together, add water until it reaches the consistency of double cream.
*Simple mayo:* Egg yolk, teaspoon mustard, squeeze of lemon, slowly whisk in 150ml neutral oil. Takes 3 minutes and tastes completely different to jarred mayo.
These go on grain bowls, roasted vegetables, fish, salads, and sandwiches.
3. Tomato sauce (25 minutes)
A basic tomato sauce covers pasta, pizza, shakshuka, braised chicken, and dozens of other dishes. The principle is always the same.
*Method:* Sauté half an onion in olive oil until soft (8 minutes). Add two crushed garlic cloves, cook 1 minute. Add one tin of chopped tomatoes (or 500g fresh, blended). Season with salt, a pinch of sugar, a bay leaf. Simmer 15-20 minutes until thickened. Remove bay. Adjust seasoning.
From this base: add chilli flakes for arrabbiata. Add wine and basil for marinara. Add cream and vodka for rosa sauce. Fry off mince before the onion for bolognese.
4. White sauce / béchamel (10 minutes)
The foundation of lasagne, macaroni cheese, croque monsieur, gratins, and cream sauces.
*Method:* Melt 25g butter in a saucepan. Add 25g plain flour and stir vigorously for 2 minutes on low heat — this cooks out the raw flour taste. Slowly add 300ml milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Cook on medium, whisking frequently, until it thickens (5-7 minutes). Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
*Variations:* Add grated cheddar or gruyère for cheese sauce. Add Dijon mustard for a mustard sauce. Use stock instead of half the milk for a lighter version.
The pattern in all four
Every sauce is: a fat, an aromatic, a liquid, a thickener (or a reduction), and seasoning. Once you see that pattern you can start improvising confidently with whatever is in the fridge.