Creamy Black Pepper Sauce

A couple of years ago, I saw a serving suggestion on the back of a bag of fresh Tagliatellie  to serve it with a steak and black pepper sauce. Immediately, I wanted to try the meal, so I looked up about how to make a creamy peppercorn sauce to go with it. In the end I looked at several recipes and did my own thing based on the similarities. The result was yummy, and while initially the idea of making a creamy sauce from scratch seemed daunting, this method actually turned out to be quite simple.

This recipe is for a sauce to be used with red meat, and is perfect for going with a steak dinner. However this sauce is also gorgeous with a Haggis Stuffed Chicken Breast. If you want this sauce with a chicken meal, simply replace the Brandy with White Wine, and the Beef Stock with Chicken Stock. Doing this make a slightly lighter sauce that works better with chicken.

Ingredients: 50g Butter A Good Glug of Brandy 1 Beef Stock Pot/Stock Cube Ground Black Pepper Pinch of Salt Up to 500ml Water 5 Tbsp Creme Fraiche 2 Tsp Cornflour mixed with 2 Tsp Water 2 Tsp Fresh Peppercorns (Optional)

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-high heat, then pour in the brandy and cook for a minute or two.
2. Add in the beef stock pot and stir until dissolved. Add in the water. If you want more than 500ml of sauce, then add in an extra stock pot.
3. Add in several generous pinches of ground black pepper and a pinch of salt. Add as much pepper to your own taste, if you want a good bite add in more, if you just want a hint of the flavour, add less. Simmer on the hob for a few minutes to infuse.
4. Add in the Creme Fraiche (again, if making more sauce, add in extra) and mix in with a whisk. Check the flavour and adjust the seasoning if desired.
5. Add a little of the cornflour mixture at a time to thicken the sauce, stirring consistently. If you run out of cornflour and want a thicker sauce, simply add in some more cornflour mixture, if it's too thick, then just add a little more water/
6. Finally, if using, add in the fresh peppercorns. I like to use a mixture of 1tsp of both green and pink peppercorns. If using, you need to use the fresh peppercorns (I use these ones from Waitrose) not the dried, as the fresh give a lovely light bite if you crunch on one - dried ones would probably break your teeth.

Fresh Pesto

When it comes to fresh herbs, one of my favourite is Basil; I love the gorgeous aroma a fresh bunch gives off and the flavour when it's used in a dish. So naturally, I've always enjoyed Pesto, though until about 18 months ago, I'd never attempted to make my own. I found a decent recipe on the net, and it was really simple to make. After a few small adjustments I managed to perfect the recipe, so here we go.

This recipe makes up a fairly large portion, which is the perfect amount to stir through 500g of dried pasta. If you don't need the whole lot in one go, simply pop it in a sealed jar or pot and keep in the fridge. This is also really nice to use in a home made tear and share loaf, stuffing into a chicken breast, or spreading on a fillet of white fish.

Ingredients: 120g Fresh Basil 50g Pine Nuts 1 Large Clove of Garlic 80g Parmesan Shavings Ground Black Pepper Salt 125ml Olive Oil

Method:

1. Pull the leaves off of the basil. This can be a tedious job, and is the most time consuming of the whole process, but you'll have lovely fragrant fingers afterwards. Put all the leaves into a food processor and lightly pulse to chop it up a bit.
2. Add in the pine nuts, garlic and parmesan shavings (use shavings as it gives a better flavour and a better texture than grated), and blend for a minute.
3. Season with a generous pinch of black pepper and a little salt and mix.
4. With the motor running, add in the oil and process until you have a smooth paste. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.