The magic of making the best sauces

Sauces, those indispensable accessories to dishes, can transform the most ordinary food, adding not only flavor and aroma, but also visual charm. From tomato to creamy, savory to sweet, sauces are diverse in composition and application. They can be used as a gravy, marinade, glaze or even as a stand-alone dish. It is important to know not only how to properly prepare a sauce, but also how to use it in cooking.

One of the main secrets of cooking sauces is knowing how to hide useful, but not always favorite vegetables in them. For example, tomato sauce is a great way to introduce vegetables into your diet that you wouldn't normally get excited about. Just add carrots, bell peppers, cauliflower or broccoli to the sauce and your dish will take on new flavor nuances and nutritional benefits, while the hidden vegetables will go unnoticed.

If you are aiming to prepare a sauce from natural products, including fresh vegetables, the best moment to add vegetables will be the moment of frying onions and garlic. In this way, the vegetables will be gently cooked while maintaining their texture and flavor, giving the sauce a deeper flavor.

If using canned tomato puree to make the sauce, you should boil the vegetables directly in the sauce. This will allow them to become soft and almost imperceptible in the dish, which is especially important when it comes to tomato sauces for pasta or pizza.

Adding vegetables to a sauce that contains chunks of meat is also a great way to enrich the dish with vitamins and nutrients. However, it's important to remember that the meat should be lean to keep the dish balanced and light.