We need sharp-flavoured dressings and dips to accentuate and emphasise the sticky, smoky delights of barbecue food, and the trio of sauces and dips featured below is perfect for all kinds of barbecued food, from grilled fish, to skewers of vegetables and smouldering slices of meat.
Staying with our theme of successful simplicity, I have included two delightful salad-dressing recipes from Gerry Galvin, of Galway's Drimcong House. Drimcong is still open and, as these dressings show, Galvin's cooking is as idiosyncratic and original as ever: the lovely balance struck between the horseradish and the sesame is a delight; the sharp attack of the harissa stirred into some yogurt and tricked out with olive oil is inventive and inspired summer cooking at its most forthright. No trip to the West for a summer break should miss out on dinner at Drimcong House (tel: 091555115; drimcong@indigo.ie)
But we begin with a rather funky dip which all Americans will recognise. Green Goddess Dressing is an American staple which has never found a home here in our kitchens. It's a pity, because this is one of the most moreish dips you can make: my six-year-old hoovered it up off the plate with some barbecued potatoes. It is good with virtually everything, and can even be used next day as a base for some delicious sandwiches. Mind you, the chance of there being any left is rather remote. You can leave the anchovies out, if they are not to your taste, but the dressing is much more assertive and enjoyable with them.
Green Goddess Dressing
6 anchovies 1 spring onion (white and green parts preserved) 4 sprigs fresh tarragon, leaves removed and chopped 20g chives, snipped into short lengths 30g parsley, roughly chopped 1 205g jar mayonnaise 1/4
cup thick sour cream 1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar 1 clove garlic Put all the ingredients in a food processor and buzz until smooth and green.
Deborah Madison's
Dressings:
Deborah Madison's name will be familiar to the many vegetarians who treasure her classic books, The Greens Cookbook and The Savoury Way. Classic status hasn't helped her to find a European publisher for her newest book, however, so try the Internet for a copy of Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone (Broadway Books) or order from London's Books For Cooks (tel: 0044 20 7221 1992; or on the internet - info@booksforcooks.com).
It is a shame no publisher has picked up on this great work (1,400 recipes over 750 pages), for Madison's cooking is as good as it gets, as these two simple dressings show. The buttermilk dressing is nothing less than culinary heaven. I think it works best made with yogurt or good sour cream, and a key ingredient for both this and for Gerry Galvin's horseradish and sesame dressing is good-quality, prepared horseradish: many horseradish creams are simply too bland. I use the German Thomy brand, which has a hefty kick to it. Tubes of wasabi (hot green Japanese mustard - wasabi translates as tears) can be found in Asian shops and in Dublin's AYA, on Clarendon Street. The buttermilk dressing is fantastic with roasted vegetables.
Buttermilk Dressing with Horseradish
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup yogurt, sour cream, or mayonnaise
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon wasabi or to taste 2 garlic cloves Salt
1/4 cup chopped parsley Fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar
Combine the buttermilk, yogurt, and horseradish in a bowl. Dilute the wasabi in a little water, then whisk it into the yogurt mixture. Pound the garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth, then add the parsley and pound again just to bruise the herbs. Add this to the buttermilk mixture with lemon juice to taste.
MY preferred feta cheese to use for this dressing is the excellent quality feta sold by Toby Simmond's Real Olive Co, and look out also for the jars of feta in oil made by the Knockalara cheese firm of Waterford. Again, this dressing is perfect with grilled vegetables and with grilled meats.
Feta Dressing with Marjoram and Mint
2 tablespoons aged red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped marjoram
2 teaspoons chopped mint
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup of crumbled feta cheese
Salt and freshly milled pepper
Put the vinegar and herbs in a small bowl. Whisk in the oil, then stir in the cheese. Taste for salt (none may be needed because of the feta) and season with pepper. If you prefer a creamier dressing, mash the cheese with the oil first, then combine with the rest of the ingredients.
Gerry Galvin's Horseradish/Harissa Dressings:
These two colourful dressings are dribbled on the plate over crisp salad leaves.
Horseradish and Sesame Dressing
1 250g carton yogurt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
Vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Mix together the yogurt, oil and horseradish, then thin to required strength with a little vegetable stock. Season.
Harissa Dressing
1 250g carton yogurt 1
tablespoon harissa olive oil
salt
Mix the yogurt and harissa well. Thin with a little olive oil and season.