Tips for delicious gravy and vinaigrette to spice up any meal

A good sauce or dressing can bring new colour, flavour and sometimes texture to an otherwise ordinary meal. Here's how to make your very own.

A good sauce or dressing can bring new colour, flavour and sometimes texture to an otherwise ordinary meal. Sauces are essential companions for salads, pasta, rice and roasts, and they are easy to vary with different combinations of spices. Wine, flour, cornstarch or puréed vegetables all contribute to good gravies and a tasty vinaigrette always starts with oil and vinegar. Here's how to make your very own.

• Season roux-based gravies only after thickening.
• Boil a gravy thickened with roux for at least five minutes to eliminate the flour taste.
• Prevent a skin from forming on light gravies by drawing a piece of butter over them with a fork.
• To enrich a gravy with butter, remove the pot from the burner and add the butter one piece at a time, letting it melt while swirling the pot a little.
• Beat gravies vigorously with a whisk to ensure they're creamy and free of lumps.
• To test the consistency of your gravy, dip a wooden spoon into it. The gravy should stick to the spoon easily, coating it.
• You can make gravy go further by adding stock, vegetable broth, sour cream, cream, crème fraîche, wine, sherry or even the water from cooking vegetables or pasta.

Deglazing is the simplest way to get the base for a meat gravy.

• After browning, remove your meat from the pan and add water or some other liquid.
• Bring to a boil while stirring constantly to dissolve the meat drippings.

1. Melt or sauté about 20 grams (2/3 ounce) butter in a pot and add about 20 grams (2/3 ounce) flour, while stirring vigorously with a spoon.
2. Keep stirring until the flour blends with the butter. For a dark roux, lightly brown the mixture.
3. Add your liquid (like stock, water or milk) and bring to a boil, continuing to stir the whole time until the sauce thickens.

Vinaigrette is still the classic salad dressing, but it relies on high-quality ingredients in the right proportions to work its magic.

• If you remember this one simple rule, you'll never have to consult a vinaigrette recipe again: use vinegar and oil in a 1:3 proportion. If you're adding mustard, use about five millilitres (one teaspoon) per 60 millilitres (four tablespoons) salad dressing.
• Stir some salt and pepper into the vinegar and whisk in the mustard. Then gradually pour in the oil while stirring constantly, until the vinegar and oil combine to form an emulsion.
• You can vary the basic vinaigrette recipe by adding onions, garlic, nuts, dried fruit, ground flaxseeds or herbs, depending on the salad, meat or fish dish you will be pouring it over.
• You can make a vinaigrette in advance. It will keep in a bottle in the refrigerator for around three weeks. Just remember to shake it thoroughly before use.

Troubleshooting vinaigrette

• Always beat in the oil last to ensure your dressing retains its creamy consistency.
• If the ingredients start to separate from one another, beat the vinaigrette vigorously again.
• If the vinaigrette is too oily, add more vinegar and spices.
• If the vinaigrette tastes sour, add oil and salt. And remember that a little sugar won't hurt either.

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