Favorite Moosewood Sauces and Dips

Choosing a few favorites from the sauces and dips section of the New Moosewood Cookbook was no easy task. There are so many to choose from! I think this round up of favorites covers a wide spectrum of flavors. My very favorite from this section was Chinese Peanut Sauce, but we'll get to that in a minute.

First up, Mango Salsa! I'm a little cuckoo bananas for mangoes. This recipe was flavorful and addicting. But you can't feel that bad about eating it. Pair this salsa with my favorite tortilla chips and I am one happy camper.

Next up is Italian Tomato Sauce. I make this constantly! I use a whole batch when I make lasagna, a half batch when I make spaghetti casserole. It is the kitchen sink recipe of tomato sauces, as you can essentially put any veggies you've stocked up on into the sauce. It's a great way to sneak in some extras! I found that stirring in some chopped broccoli gave the sauce a nice texture, almost like that of ground beef.


Now here's my favorite of the sauces and dips section. This peanut sauce is intense!


Chinese Peanut Sauce
Adapted from Mollie Katzen's New Moosewood Cookbook
10 minutes to prepare
Makes 1 potent cup

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup hot water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons cilantro
cayenne, to taste (I used about a 1/2 teaspoon)
salt, to taste (if the peanut butter is unsalted)

1. Place peanut butter in a small bowl.  Add the hot water and stir patiently with a small spoon or whisk until uniformly mixed.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. If refrigerating, be sure to cover tightly. Let the sauce come to room temperature before serving.

A Happy Taste Notes
I put this sauce on plain noodles and it was divine. 
The other night we had it with roasted eggplant and red bell peppers and it was also delicious.
Charlie loves to make Swimming Rama with this sauce by adding fresh spinach and serving it over angel hair pasta or rice.