Ethiopian General Sauce

Ingredients

6 shallots minced

1 garlic clove minced

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 fresh thyme sprigs

2 fresh basil sprigs

Grated zest of 1/4 orange

1 tablespoon whole cloves crushed

1 tablespoon mace crushed

2 tablespoons freshly-ground black pepper

1/4 cup salt

1/2 cup red wine

Juice of 2 lemons

2 cups Madeira

Preparation

Place the shallots, garlic, almond extract, thyme, basil, zest, cloves, mace, pepper, salt, wine, lemon juice and Madeira in a slow cooker. Cook at low setting 6 hours. (Or, pour the sauce into an ovenproof dish with a tight-fitting lid. Place in a 200-degree oven for 6 hours.)

Strain the sauce, discarding the solids. Store the sauce in a tightly sealed container.

This recipe yields 3 1/2 cups.

Comments: General Sauce is a mild, elegant flavoring for melted butter. The original recipe called for a few somewhat rare ingredients: lemon thyme, peach leaf (easily replaced by almond extract) and long pepper, which is available at Ethiopian markets; black pepper can substitute for it. California Madeira works perfectly well in this sauce.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups