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In their book, Rawlicious, Peter and Beryn Daniel explain that their chapter on sauces and dressings is one of the most valuable: ‘A simple sauce dressing can take almost no time to prepare and can change the taste, texture and look of a salad or simple meal into something a whole lot more gourmet.’ Read on for some of their sauce recipes that can be made on a free day, to be stored in the fridge in glass jars or frozen for later use.

Raw tomato sauce

To make a raw food tomato sauce, you will need to blend together the following ingredients: one cup of fresh tomatoes that have been halved, half a cup of sundried tomatoes, one clove of garlic, one tablespoon of olive oil, one teaspoon of honey (or four dates that have been pitted) and some salt to taste.

Blend the ingredients together until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Raw chilli olive sauce

This ‘Olive Tapenade’ recipe calls for one cup of pitted olives, one mild chilli pepper (small), half a clove of garlic and about a quarter of a cup of sundried tomatoes. Place all the ingredients into a food processor or a blender and mix until the sauce is smooth.

Raw basil pesto

Basil pesto is great for pasta, but it also works well as a base for sandwiches or as a dressing for salad. Place the following ingredients into a food processor: three cups of freshly picked basil, one clove of garlic, a third of a cup of macadamia nuts, a third of a cup of pumpkin seeds, an eighth of a cup of lemon juice, a third of a cup of olive oil and salt to taste.

Blend the ingredients together until everything has been chopped and well combined.

Tip: Double or triple this recipe to make a large batch as pesto freezes well.

Tags: cooking