Summer Sauces to Accompany Picnic-Season Meals – Recommended by Barbora Flavour Expert Dzintars Kristovskis

The summer months have traditionally been unimaginable without seasonal flavour combinations to serve both on everyday occasions and at celebrations, complementing every meal. Moreover, now that the grilling and picnic season is in full swing, various accompaniments for meat and vegetarian dishes have become particularly relevant. Therefore, inspiring new kitchen experiments, Barbora.lv online store flavour expert, country gourmand and experienced chef Dzintars Kristovskis recommends three popular worldwide and easy-to-prepare homemade sauce recipes. They are an excellent alternative to the usual accompaniments for fish, meat and vegetables and a skilful way to refresh summer meals. In his opinion, sauce is the main component of any dish, allowing it to be easily adapted to every taste and giving meals a restaurant-quality aftertaste.

Tartar sauce

A light and summery accompaniment for a fish burger or fresh salads containing fried or smoked fish, such as cod or salmon combined with new potatoes, fresh cucumber and onion. The sauce also complements quickly prepared fish fingers perfectly and gives a new twist to the popular crab salad by replacing mayonnaise. (As an original alternative, potatoes can be added to the salad instead of rice.) The listed ingredients are intended for five medium-sized burgers or 4–5 portions of salad.

·       100 g mayonnaise

·       1 pickled cucumber

·       1 tablespoon lemon juice

·       1 tablespoon capers

·       1 tablespoon dill

·       1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

·       ½ teaspoon mustard (Dijon mustard is traditionally used)

·       Salt and pepper to taste

·       Optionally, finely chopped shallots and/or boiled eggs, as well as a little Tabasco sauce, may also be added

Finely chop the pickled cucumber, capers and dill (as well as the onion and eggs, if used). Mix everything with the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste. If the sauce is used in salads, it can be made more intense by adding more salt, lemon juice and mustard. In a sealed container, this sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Tzatziki

The roots of this creamy sauce can be traced to Greece, but all its ingredients are also available here in Latvia. Tzatziki is a fresh yet strong and filling sauce that goes perfectly with any meat (all the better if the meat is grilled or marinated with spices, for example, in the style of gyros) or in a sandwich with smoked butterfish. The listed ingredients are intended for 5–6 sandwiches.

·       200 g Greek or SKYR yoghurt (sour cream may also be used)

·       4 fresh field cucumbers (washed, unpeeled)

·       1 tablespoon lemon juice

·       Zest of ½ lemon

·       1 teaspoon dill

·       1 tablespoon mint

·       ½ garlic clove

·       ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder

·       1 tablespoon honey (preferably acacia or linden blossom honey)

Before mixing everything together, preparations need to be made the day before. Although Greek and SKYR yoghurt is thick, excess liquid must be removed when using it for the sauce. Place the yoghurt or sour cream in a colander lined with cheesecloth or a thin kitchen towel, place the colander over a suitably sized bowl and leave it in the refrigerator for 12 hours. As the liquid drains away, a very thick sauce base will form. Add all the listed ingredients to this base—the chopped dill and mint, as well as the grated garlic clove and cucumbers, which should first be grated on a fine grater and then have all the liquid squeezed out through a sieve. Tzatziki tastes best chilled. However, storing this sauce for a long time is not recommended, as the fresh ingredients will gradually lose their pleasant flavour nuances.

Grilled pepper sauce

This sauce can be compared to adjika, which is widely popular in the Caucasus region; once boiled and packed in a jar, it can also be stored for the winter. However, the true charm of the sauce lies in its freshness, which makes it an excellent accompaniment to grilled fish (such as salmon) or other seafood, as well as French fries, fresh or grilled vegetables, or salads with grilled meat, or as a dip for crisps and other crunchy snacks. The listed ingredients are intended for 5–6 portions.

·       3 red peppers

·       2 medium-sized tomatoes

·       1 tablespoon capers

·       1 shallot

·       2 garlic cloves

·       1 red chilli pepper

·       1 small sprig of rosemary

·       2 sprigs of thyme

·       A couple of sage leaves

·       100 ml olive oil

·       1 tablespoon lemon juice

·       1 tablespoon sugar

·       Salt to taste

Drizzle the peppers with half of the olive oil and place them in an oven preheated to 200°C. When their skins turn black in places (after approximately 40–60 minutes), they are ready to use. Remove the peppers from the oven, transfer them to a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool. Then remove the skins, take out the seeds and chop the peppers. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes as well and chop them. Chop the capers, onion, chilli peppers, garlic and herbs in the same way (use only the leaves from the rosemary and thyme). Add the remaining ingredients and mix everything together. Add salt to taste. This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for several days and tastes just as good when reheated.

The products used in these homemade sauce recipes, with convenient delivery to your doorstep or the nearest Maxima store anywhere in Latvia, are available from the Barbora.lv online store.

This and other recipes by Barbora’s flavour expert can be found on the website: https://www.barbora.lv/receptes/kategorija/iesaka-barbora-garsas-eksperts/griletas-paprikas-merce