We are saucy people. We love sauces. They add flavour, dimension, succulence and a visual element to food. If you love sauces too but want to keep your diet vegan, we’ve got you covered.
Below you’ll find 10 easy vegan recipes for easy sauces that are crowd favourites. But first, a bit of history.
Ever wondered where the wonder that is sauce came from?
The earliest recorded sauce was garum, dating back to around 200AD in ancient Rome. It was a form of fermented fish sauce combined with herbs, spices, vinegar, and/or honey.
The word ‘sauce’ comes from the Old French ‘sausse’, which comes from the Latin ‘sal’ or ‘salsa’, meaning ‘salt’ or ‘salted’. Sauces have come a long way from merely ‘salting’ food, however, and once the French got a hold of them, Mon Dieu! The sauce took off.
Julia Child on 'The French Chef' in 1963.
Courtesy of Giphy.com
The haute société of French cuisine classified five mother sauces from which all other sauces find their source. They were: béchamel (white), veloute (blonde), espagnole/demi-glace (brown), tomato (red) and hollandaise (butter).
Nowadays, thanks to globalisation, we also have Italian pesto and aioli, Indian satay, Asian soy and Sriracha, and of course, the old favourites like tomato ketchup, mayonnaise, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.
Here are 10 easy vegan sauce recipes to bring your meals to life
Included sauces:
1. Salsa 2. Vegan White Sauce/Vegan Cheese Sauce 3. Guacamole Dip or Dressing 4. Vegan Cheesey (Nacho) Sauce 5. Salsa Verde 6. Aioli 7 Peanut Satay Sauce 8. Simple Salad Dressing 9. Red Pepper Dip or Dressing 10. Pesto
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How and when to use sauces
If you are one of those people that put sauce on something before you’ve even tasted it (no shame, we’ve all done it), we are about to blow your mind and change the way you eat forever…in a good way.
There is actually an art behind what sauce to use when. When you are eating something, it is much more pleasurable on the palate to have different textures, and varieties of sweet, salty, sour and sometimes hot. (Note: Sweet doesn’t mean sugar. A ripe tomato is sweet, a caramelised onion is sweet and so is a sweet potato!)
The different texture and flavour classifications of food are enhanced and complemented and made delectable by pairing them with the right sauce.
For example, if you are having something creamy like potato or aubergine, then you want a sauce that is fresh and slightly acidic.
A simple butternut soup is great, but top it with toasted pumpkin seeds and croutons and maybe even a swirl of lemony basil pesto or vegan aioli, and it just adds a bit more ‘cheffy-ness’ to your meal.
Here is a quick cheat sheet of what sauces pair with what foods.
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Final Note:
Are you a saucy minx or a stickler for simple? Give these sauces a try and then decide. I guarantee if you add the right sauce to the right dish at a dinner party, your friends will be sighing with satisfaction.
If you would like to taste vegan sauces in action but you’re not in the cooking mood, we have prepared delicious, nutritious, plant-based meals and dessert for you. If you are in the looking for vegan food in Port Elizabeth area, pop into our store at 25 Westbourne Road, order online or check your local Spar in the Eastern Cape.
