A good sauce can transform a dish, by elevating it with contrasting or complementary flavours, or by adding colour and texture to increase the sensory experience. Emulsion sauces can be cold, hot, savoury, sweet, smooth or have texture. With Thermomix® it's easy to prepare these often tricky and temperamental sauces.
Emulsion sauces are made by mixing two ingredients that don’t easily mix together (that's why these sauces can often separate). An emulsifying agent, usually egg, is used to combine the mixture.
Vinaigrette: is all you need for vegetable salads. Create your own dressings using the Mustard Balsamic Vinegar Dressing recipe as a basic guide. Try different types of oil and vinegar, and add seasonings and flavours of your choice. You can also use vinaigrettes as a marinade for meat or fish.
Mayonnaise: is a cold emulsion sauce, traditionally emulsified with egg yolks. Alternatively, try the Egg-free Mayonnaise made with milk, or a Vegan Mayonnaise emulsified with soya milk. For a different twist add aromatic herbs or minced garlic.
A vinaigrette can be made simply by emulsifying all the ingredients at the same time. For a mayonnaise, the oil is very slowly poured onto the mixing bowl lid, letting it drizzle in a thin stream onto the rotating blades to create an emulsion.
Sabayon (Zabaglione): this is the most famous egg yolk foam, normally sweet, made with sugar, wine (often Marsala) and egg yolks. It can be served on its own with biscotti, or as a sweet sauce over fresh fruit or a slice of cake. Try the Cider Sabayon Sauce with steamed apples or the savoury Lemon Sabayon Sauce with asparagus or fish.
Hollandaise sauce: made with lemon juice, egg yolks and butter, this classic sauce is commonly served with fish, poached eggs or steamed asparagus. Try adding a pinch of cayenne pepper or fresh herbs to this classic sauce to enrich your own dishes. For a Maltaise sauce just replace lemon juice with the juice of a blood orange. Try the Red Pepper and Paprika Hollandaise Sauce over steamed fish or grilled chicken breast.
Béarnaise sauce: made with shallots, tarragon, lemon juice, egg yolks and butter, it’s the perfect sauce to enhance a Sous-vide Rare Beef Steak.
When preparing sauces in advance, store with cling film directly in contact with the surface of the sauce to prevent the formation of a skin.
