2025: SAUCES ARE TRENDING

Do you follow the "what's trending" lists? In the story “9 Food Trend Predictions for 2025” the NewYork Times placed “a year of sauces” at the very top, promising a “global flavor journey.” Should you wish to journey further in saucy discovery of Spain, here are some suggestions to map the itinerary.

Sofrito, the "mother" sauce.

SOFRITO. Sofrito, which means “gently fried,” is procedure, technique and sauce. The initial frying of onions, garlic, and tomatoes in olive oil adds depth of flavor and complexity to foods cooked in it.  Sofrito usually it is the first step in a more complex dish, but, chunky or sieved, it can become a sauce in its own right. Paella starts with sofrito, to which are added chicken or rabbit, other vegetables, seafood. 

Penne with Sofrito and Chorizo. Rice with Shrimp in Paella.

Romesco sauce with grilled onions, shrimp.

ROMESCO. In the repertoire of Spanish sauces, romesco is, perhaps, the most well-known (it appears in the New York Times list along with tzatziki and harissa). A sauce that originated in Tarragona (Catalonia), it is made with toasted nuts (almonds and/or hazelnuts), dried ñora red peppers, garlic and olive oil. Romesco accompanies calçotada, grilled spring onions with butifarra sausage. It makes an excellent dressing for escarole, artichokes or other vegetables. As a cook-in sauce with added liquid romesco is brilliant with fish, shellfish or chicken.

Sheet-Pan Broil with Romesco Sauce.  Cod and Tuna Salad with Romesco.

Ingredients for pepitoria: almonds, saffron, garlic.

PEPITORIA, SALSA DE ALMENDRAS. Pepitoria or Almond Sauce is not usually a stand-alone sauce. It's a combination of seasoning and cooking liquid in which foods cook. Almonds, garlic, saffron and other spices are ground to a paste in a mortar such as the brass almirez shown in the picture or processed in a blender. The sauce is used with chicken, fish, meatballs and vegetables. Pepitoria is especially popular in Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha.

Turkey with Quick Pepitoria. Chicken in Almond-Saffron Sauce. Monkfish in Almond Sauce.  Cardoons with Almond Sauce. Meatballs in Almond Sauce. Braised Tongue in Almond Sauce.

Mojo verde has a touch of hot chile.

MOJO VERDE. Canary Island green sauce, with hot chile, lots of fresh cilantro and parsley, garlic, olive oil and vinegar is often served with simple grilled fish, but it's also a great dipping sauce for fried wings or salt-cooked potatoes. Mojo verde is a lot like Moroccan chermoula sauce.

Crispy Fried Chicken Wings with Mojo Verde. Wrinkly Potatoes with Mojo Verde.

Garlicky dressing for fish or vegetables.

ALIÑO. Aliño, an uncooked sauce, is a garlicky dressing often spooned over grilled foods or "smashed" potatoes. 

Grilled Hake with Garlic-Parsley Aliño. Smashed Potatoes with Tangy Dressing. Razor-Shell Clams with Garlic-Parsley Sauce.

Bake fish fillets with Vizcaina sauce.

SALSA VIZCAINA. Vizcaina or "Biscay" sauce is a classic Basque preparation usually served with bacalao (salt cod). It's made with a tomato sofrito with the addition of ground up choricero peppers, a dried, bittersweet red pepper. The sauce is incredibly versatile. Use it to accompany grilled fish or as a  sauce for baking fish fillets. It's good with shrimp, mussels or octopus. With snails, tripe or pigs' feet. With fried eggs, potatoes or on pasta.

Cod with Basque Vizcaina Sauce. 

Sweetbreads and mushrooms al Jerez, Sherry sauce.

AL JEREZ. Not even designated as "sauce," Sherry sauce is essentially the cooking medium for whatever food is cooked in it. The type of Sherry can vary--fino or amontillado, oloroso seco or palo cortado--depending on what the main ingredient is. Depending on what herbs and thickeners are used, Sherry sauce works with everything from fish to poultry to meat to vegetables. 

Sweetbreads and Mushrooms in Sherry Sauce. Lamb Kidneys in Sherry Sauce. Garlic Chicken with Sherry Sauce. Monkfish and Shrimp with Sherry Sauce.

Tangy orange sauce with batter-fried fish.

SALSA DE NARANJA. This tangy sauce made with the juice of sour oranges complements fried fish or vegetables such as artichokes and asparagus. 

Beer-Battered Fish with Tangy Orange Sauce. Sole with Orange-Caper Sauce. Duck Breast with Orange Sauce. Pork Tenderloin with Orange Sauce.

Three variations on alioli--clockwise from bottom left, alioli with chopped black garlic, parsley and lemon zest; with chopped scallions, cilantro and jalapeño, and with smoked pimentón and chopped piquillo peppers. 

Easy to make mayonnaise.

MAYONESA > ALIOLI. Mayonnaise and its garlicky variations are the epitome of Spanish sauces, made with ingredients to hand in every kitchen--eggs and olive oil. Said to have originated in Mahón on the island of Menorca (Balearics) (Mahón> mahonesa> French mayonnaise), the sauce. originally made with olive oil, is thoroughly at home everywhere in Spain. Once stirred laboriously in a large mortar, it is now made quickly in an electric blender.

Alioli just means "garlic-oil." Originally it was an emulsion of simply crushed garlic and olive oil, no eggs. Nowdays alioli sauce usually means garlic mayonnaise. 

Let the variations begin! Stir herbs or other seasonings into the basic alioli and turn it into a sauce for absolutely everything! 

Fried Squid Sandwich with Alioli Sauce. Sheet-Pan Chicken with Roasted Garlic Alioli. Broccoli with Alioli Gratin. Rice Abanda with Alioli. Pink Cocktail Sauce (Salsa Rosa) with Fish Terrine.