Recipes: Sorcery of a great sauce is magic ingredient

My three favourite sauces need little or no cooking and give an exotic touch to everyday food. Harissa is a hot, tangy paste from North Africa and is made from roasted peppers, a hint of chilli, fresh coriander and lemon juice. It can be stirred through couscous, dribbled over roasted winter vegetables or packed into toasted pitta bread with falafel and salad.

Vibrant, red Romesco sauce is made from store cupboard treasures such as ground almonds, sweet bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and sherry vinegar. It is delicious served with crisp, roast parsnip or sweet potato chips and goes equally well with white fish. Pesto from Italy is more familiar and it can be used to add a delicious umami flavour to many foods. It can be stirred through risotto or dribbled into tomato soup. Add a little more oil and lemon juice to freshly made pesto and it makes a fabulous salad dressing. For an impressive canapé, wrap a bread stick with Parma ham and serve with a pot of pesto.

The flavour and colour of these sauces is best when they are freshly made. Many of their ingredients – fresh garlic, basil, lemon and coriander contain volatile aromatic oils which are released and evaporate quickly when they are crushed, which is why readymade sauces rarely taste as good as fresh ones.

These sauces can be made in a food processor for a smooth texture or pulverised in a large pestle and mortar for a coarser more rustic feel.

If you have any sauce left over it can be covered with a little olive oil and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days as a stand-by for sandwich fillings, salads and for dipping in breadsticks or other snacks.

HARISSA SAUCE

1 red pepper, 1 cloves garlic, 1 long fresh, red chilli, 1 tsp cumin seeds, freshly roasted and ground, ½ lemon, juiced, 3 tbsp chopped coriander, 2 tbsp tomato purées, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, sea salt and black pepper to season

Cut the red pepper in half and remove seeds and fleshy ribs. Lay skin upwards on a grill pan and grill until the skin blackens and the flesh becomes soft. Allow to cool and slide off the burnt skin. Do not worry of a little blackened skin remains as it adds a little smokiness to the sauce. Blend the pepper and remaining ingredients in a food processor. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

FALAFEL, Serves 4

250g chick peas, drained from a can, 1 clove garlic, 3 tbsp coriander, chopped, 2 tbsp parsley, chopped, 1½ tsp cumin seeds, roughly ground, 1 tsp coriander seeds, roughly ground, ½ onion, finely chopped, 50g chick pea flour, ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda, sea salt and black pepper, 1 egg, lightly beaten, vegetable oil for shallow frying

The first time I ate falafel was in Jerusalem. I just loved them wrapped in a warm pitta bread pocket stuffed with crisp salad and a spritz of sharp lemon juice.

Place the chick peas in the food processor and pulse carefully to create a roughly chopped effect. Empty the chickpeas into a large bowl and add the other ingredients apart from the lightly beaten egg. Stir well and add enough of the beaten egg to form a stiff paste. Take walnut sized amounts of the falafel mix and shape into balls. Flatten each into a disc about 2cm thick. Heat 1cm of vegetable oil in a pan and gently fry batches of falafel. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm. Serve with warm pita bread and harissa sauce.

ROMESCO SAUCE WITH VEGETABLE CHIPS

40g flaked almonds, 1 clove garlic peeled and crushed, 1 small dried chilli, 80g whole sweet piquant peppers from a jar, drained 80g sundried tomatoes in oil, drained, 1 tbsp of sherry vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1tbsp hot water, sea salt and black pepper

Place the flaked almonds in a frying pan over a gentle heat until they turn golden brown. Allow them to cool slightly and place them in a food processor with garlic, chilli, drained sweet peppers, sundried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil and hot water. Process until you has a rough purée. Season with a little salt and add more vinegar if you like a sharper flavour.

VEGETABLE CHIPS, Serves 4

1 large potato, 1 large sweet potato, 2 medium sized parsnips, sunflower oil, sea salt

Preheat oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 . Slice potato, sweet potato and parsnips thinly using either a sharp knife or mandolin. A mandolin will cut vegetables quickly and uniformly to the thickness you prefer. Alternatively you can cut vegetables into thin batons or sticks about ½ cm thick.

Lay vegetables slices or batons on a baking sheet, brush with oil, sprinkle with a little salt and bake for about 30 minutes.

Have a palate knife or tongs handy to flip over vegetables as they turn golden brown. Remove any chips as they are cooked. Drain on kitchen paper and serve with the romesco sauce.

TRADITIONAL PESTO

50g fresh basil leaves, roughly torn or cut up, 1 large clove garlic, crushed, 1 tbsp pine kernels, lightly roasted in a hot frying pan, 50g Parmesan cheese grated, 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper to season

The word pestare means “to pound” in Italian, hence “pestle” and mortar. Although you can use a food processor for this sauce it is just as easily made using a pestle and mortar. Pesto is a well loved sauce because so much flavour is packed into the merest dribble.

Place the torn basil leaves, garlic, toasted pine nuts and a pinch of salt and pepper into a mortar and crush the ingredients to a rough paste.

Add the grated cheese and add a steady stream of olive oil until you reach the consistency you want. Season with salt and pepper.