Summer Dipping Sauce

We have been eating outdoors a lot in the hot weather we've had in the UK over the last week.  This has prompted a seasonal interest in dips and dippers.  Sous Chef J particularly likes such food as it means NO CUTLERY required!

So, having decided to look at our range of dip recipes, we went for a simple version of Marie Rose Sauce.

As ever, few ingredients are involved.  Sous Chef J found all the items we needed - mayonnaise, lemon, tomato puree and Tabasco (pepper sauce).







Placing a couple of tablespoons of mayo in a bowl together with about a heaped teaspoon of tomato puree, a good squeeze of lemon juice was added (the more lemon juice you add, the runnier the 'dip) and mixed well.  Then a healthy dash of Tabasco was added and stirred through.  Et voila.  Dip ready!

Next the dippers were prepared.  This time we had some spicy tortilla chips, chopped up peppers, cucumber, apple, tomatoes and cheese.  If you want you can also use prawns, crabsticks (although we don't these days as they aren't gluten free) and/or crisps.

BBQ Sauce-y Bits

Those of you that have been following this blog for a while may be familiar with the 'rustic' nature of the recipes we use. This one is no different! It's simple, uses just four ingredients for the sauce, and comes from a scrawled note (the recipe) that's been in my recipe folder for years. So, here is the recipe.You will note that the recipe refers to ribs... and the sauce does work well on pork ribs but the accepted family use of the sauce is now as part of Sauce-y Bits... where the 'bits' are actually pork shoulder. 450g of pork shoulder will usually need half of the quantity of sauce stated in the recipe... but we like it to be a sticky coating to the meat rather than a runny gravy type sauce. Just adjust amounts to suit your own likes/needs.

Having found all four sauce ingredients, sous chef J moved onto the next stage..... and mixed the ingredients together in a bowl.







Then the shoulder of pork was chopped into approx one inch cubes which were fried off in a frying pan. Once the meat was starting to brown, the BBQ sauce was poured into the pan and the whole lot was mixed well. It was then left to caramelise on a medium heat for about ten minutes (or longer) - remember to stir occasionally. This is the result! Serve with salad, broccoli or peas... green vegs look good with it as the colour contrast is appealing (or so sous chef J says).