SHOPPING LIST: Cooking Skills: Vegetables 2, Chapter 7 (Dips, Purées and Sauces)

A food processor or blender (a stick blender will do for the purée and the sauce), a sieve, and nuts. Check for nut allergies before cooking for guests.

Romesco (4 portions)
[ ] 2 roasted red peppers (from a jar, drained, or charred as in Cooking Skills: Vegetables 2, chapter 4)
[ ] 2 ripe tomatoes, halved
[ ] 50 g blanched or toasted almonds
[ ] 1 slice of day-old bread, torn
[ ] 1 garlic clove
[ ] 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
[ ] 1 tsp smoked paprika
[ ] 4 tbsp olive oil
[ ] 1 pinch salt

Pesto (4 portions)
[ ] 50 g basil leaves, stalks removed
[ ] 25 g pine nuts or walnuts, lightly toasted
[ ] 1 garlic clove
[ ] 30 g hard cheese, grated
[ ] 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
[ ] 1 tsp lemon juice
[ ] 1 pinch salt

Celeriac or parsnip purée (4 portions)
[ ] 500 g celeriac, peeled and cut into 3 cm chunks (or parsnips)
[ ] 1 medium potato, peeled and chunked (optional, for body)
[ ] 300 ml milk
[ ] 300 ml water
[ ] 25 g butter
[ ] 1 pinch nutmeg
[ ] 1 pinch salt and pepper

Tomato sauce from scratch (6 portions)
[ ] 1 onion, finely chopped
[ ] 2 garlic cloves, sliced
[ ] 2 tbsp olive oil
[ ] 2 tins 400 g tins of chopped tomatoes (or 800 g fresh ripe tomatoes, chopped)
[ ] 1 tsp sugar (optional)
[ ] 1 handful basil leaves
[ ] 1 pinch salt and pepper

For the experiments
[ ] 1 extra head of garlic
[ ] Extra pine nuts or walnuts
[ ] Vinegar and sugar