Food markets and Magic Sauce

 

On a recent visit to my home town of London, I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon in the bustling Borough Market.  Borough Market used to be where all the big London chefs went to buy, but bit by bit it has become a trendy food market and a huge tourist attraction. That said, it is still a great place to visit. Located right on the River Thames just by London Bridge, it is vibrant and  bustling with people moving from one colourful stall to another, sampling the treats on offer. It’s all there, from crumbly aged French cheeses to Croatian olive oils, Dalmatian jams, British sausages, Italian truffles…it’s a foodie’s delight. Cuisines and delicacies from local producers from all over the world and best of all, enough of it free to be able to satisfy one’s curiosity and stomach! I got to try things I’d never had before, such as nutty pumpkin seed oil (delicious), and I even found the elusive Aleppo pepper!

Maybe its just a question of what one notices, but I was struck by the vast array of chilli oils and chilli sauces for sale. Stall after stall was offering tasters from jars of dipping/ marinading sauces of varying strength of heat and flavour. Being a chill addict, I sampled a whole lot of them but of course, didn’t buy any.  While I can be tempted into forking out for a chuck of aged Comte cheese or some fennel infused organic salami,  I can’t be tempted to buy something I can throw together in 5 minutes in my own kitchen.

Easy for you, I  hear you say, and yes, it is, but it’s actually easy for everyone. A couple of weeks ago I came across this sauce and it’s something you could probably pull off right now without even going shopping. Well, maybe….all you need is fresh herbs, olive oil, garlic, paprika and lemon. It’s a recipe that its creator, Heidi…of 101cookbooks calls Magic Sauce – because it is! It’s just a simple combo of basic ingredients that goes with just about everything and turns something plain into something really exciting. Think about the ingredients and you will see you can’t really go wrong. Its basically becomes super infused slightly spicy herby olive oil, though how hot spicy you make it is up to you. Its just very handy to have around.

 

I’ve so far used it with chickpeas, grilled meat, grilled veggies, fried eggs, couscous, rice, soup…and I don’t remember what else.

And here it is:

Magic Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup good extra virgin olive oil (quality does matter here)
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp fresh oregano
• 2 tsp sweet paprika (NOT smoked paprika here  – the smokiness is too overpowering)
• 2 cloves garlic – pounded into a paste
• 1 bay leaf crushed and crumbled
• pinch of red pepper flakes (or more if like me you like the heat)
• 1/4 + tsp fine grain salt
• I tbs fresh lemon juice

Method

• Warm the olive oil in a pan on a medium low heat. Don’t let it get too hot like I did the first time. Remove from heat
• Meanwhile – although beware, you don’t have long – bash your herbs in a pestle and mortar so they are well bruised
• Stir the paprika, garlic, bay leaf, red pepper flakes and salt into the warm oil. Then add the herbs and the squeeze of lemon.
• And that’s it – 5 minutes as I said.  You can use it straightway but it actually improves with time as the oil gets more and more infused with the flavours. Keep it in the fridge for up to about 10 days but allow it to warm up  and liquify if it gets solid before you use it.

Trust me, you will use it.