Simple Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 part tomato sauce
• 2 parts mayonnaise

Method

Fold the tomato sauce into the mayonnaise in a 1:2 ratio. Don't stir — folding prevents breaking the emulsification that holds the mayo's structure. The emulsion is fragile: vigorous mixing introduces air and can cause the fat and water phases to separate, leaving you with a split, greasy mess. Use a spatula and turn the bowl as you work, bringing the mixture together in eight to ten folds until the colour is uniform and the streaking stops. You're looking for a pale coral paste, not bright orange.

Taste at the fold stage. The mayo's salt and fat will have already tempered the tomato's acidity, so you're starting from a more neutral position than the raw ingredients suggest. If you need adjustment, add tomato sauce in small spoonfuls — a teaspoon at a time — because it's easier to build acidity than to bury it again. Adding more mayo after that point means re-folding and risking the emulsion. The mayonnaise also carries a subtle sweetness from the egg yolk and oil, which will emerge more as it sits. This isn't something to fight; it's the flavour-building principle at work — competing tastes (sweet, sour, salt, fat) create depth.

Let the sauce rest for five minutes before use. During this time, the tomato's lycopene and the egg's lecithin settle into an even distribution, and the flavours marry. Cold mayo and room-temperature tomato sauce will reach an equilibrium that tastes more integrated than the hot-minute fold.

Use this as a condiment for cold cuts, roasted vegetables, or as the base for a sandwich spread. The sauce works best within an hour of making, whilst the emulsion is still tight. If it's been in the fridge overnight, it will have begun to separate slightly; a gentle re-fold with a spatula will bring it back, though it won't have the same silk as the fresh version. Keep it covered until service — exposure to air and temperature swings accelerates breakdown.