Jars of cooking sauce=evil
Jars of cooking sauce are such a cynical product - and we've all bought into them. These things are supposed to make cookery easier... well, what could be easier than knocking up a quick sauce to go with pasta? And they are so expensive too. The markup on these things is staggering - why does anyone spend over a quid - and sometimes more - on a jar of sauce when they could instead use a 30p tin of tomatoes and some herbs or spices?
They also take all the fun and creativity out of cookery. Where's the fun in knowing exactly what your meal will taste like and being unable to play around with the flavours to get exactly what you want?
The other week, I was making up a curry and had all my little jars of Schwartz spices out. My housemate's girlfriend wandered into the kitchen, saw what I was doing and commented on how she used jars of sauce because she couldn't be bothered to go to all that trouble - and don't those little spice jars cost a lot?
Well, if you don't like cooking you don't like cooking so I guess that's what she meant by "couldn't be bothered." For me, it's fun and therapeutic to do something creative after a day in the office.
As for the cost of spices, I think she was plain wrong. Yes, it costs a fair bit if you go and buy a jar of cumin, one of coriander, one of cardamoms etc etc. But each one lasts for a long time - much longer than a one-meal jar of sauce - and they run out at different rates so once you've got a stock of them in your cupboard you don't really notice the cost of replacing them one at a time.
I never buy jars of cooking sauce for myself but I was given a quite expensive one of curry sauce as a gift recently. When I ate it, I thought it was awful; the taste was unpleasant and it left an acrid sensation in the back of my throat. I felt justified in avoiding the things for so long.
Here's a simple recipe that I've been making since I started cooking for myself. It's gone through lots of variations so this is the current one. It's an old friend; my version of comfort food.
Chop up an onion and some mushrooms.
Cut up one chicken breast per person.
Gently fry the onion. When it starts to go soft, add the chicken and fry until it's "sealed."
Turn the heat down a bit and chuck in a tin of tomatoes, lots of basil, lots of black pepper, some garlic, a splash of Lea and Perrins, some red wine, and the mushrooms.
Simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
Add some cream just a few minutes before it's ready.
Serve with pasta - I like to cook the pasta then add it to the sauce, so that everything's mixed up together and the pasta is covered in sauce.
You should see this recipe as a base and experiment with it rather than following it religiously. Try it with different meats and different herbs. If you're in the mood for curry, use spices and rice instead of herbs and pasta and again play with the spices until you find a combination you like. If money's tight, leave out the wine and cream - it's still nice like that, and it's a meal for pennies rather than pounds. Play with different vegetables, too - you could throw in leeks, for example, or anything that cooks relatively quickly. I'm pretty sure I've done this with frozen peas.
It's as easy as you like, and doesn't really take any longer that using a jar of sauce - the pasta and meat still have to cook through and that's what takes the time.
PS: Spotted in Tesco - Tesco Value Pasta Sauce With Sugar and Sweetener. Ewwwww.
