Pauper’s treat:

For a litre of sauce:

3 large white onions peeled and thickly sliced lengthways. Keep a bit of green stalks for decoration. (Even when broke one must keep up the standards)

A handful of mushrooms washed and coarsely sliced.

A 100 gms tray of chopped bacon or cured ham (tiras de beicon o jamon curado)

A glass of white wine or the left over of that awful Sherry from Cyprus

A few tablespoons of cream or milk

One stock cube

Dribble a little of whatever oil you have left in a pan and fry the bacon/ham gently. When slightly golden add the onions. Stir well. Do not let the onions take colour. When they are soft add the mushrooms. The reason I advise to cut the vegetables coarsely is that when you cook with little meat or none at all you must have texture. Otherwise everything looks and tastes like baby food.

Crumble the stock cube over the mixture, add the wine and stir. Add the cream or milk. Add a glass of water. Taste. Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes. It will thicken. If too thin dilute a little cornflour (Maizena) in water and add to the pot .Give it just one boil.

Serve with whatever you have chosen and top up with the chopped greens.

It will keep in the fridge for up to a week and in the freezer for up to 3 months. So it is well worth doing it in quantity and dividing it in small containers.

BON APPETIT!

JOCELYNE