Raw food consists of (usually plant) food that is uncooked and unprocessed, such food often termed “live” or “living”. The raw food diet is based on the belief that a high-enzyme diet will ensure optimal health. Enzymes help us to digest food; raw food contains enzymes already to assist this process. When we cook food, the naturally occurring enzymes are destroyed by heat (over 118ºF or 48ºC), and our own bodies need to produce the enzymes to digest the food.It is thought that this places too much pressure on our bodies, having to both manufacture the enzymes needed, and digest the food at the same time.Cooking is also thought to diminish the nutritional value and “life force” of food.
As well as this basic reason, other reasons for why people follow a raw food diet vary, from reasons that include losing weight, anti-aging properties, health benefits, physical performance benefits. For a growing number of people, it is way of fitting in with a green lifestyle.
Despite being a current food trend, the concept eating raw foods isn’t new. Salads and chilled vegetable soups such as gazpachos are common examples of serving foods raw. Attempting to consume only raw foods may be daunting however. A trick incorporating more raw foods in our diet is to include more raw vegetables and juices in our diet. A favourite ‘raw food’ dish which I have learnt from an Italian mother is the Pasta Con Sugo Crudo (Pasta with ‘raw sauce’). This simple dish involve removing the pulp of red tomatoes and marinating the pulp with basil, minced garlic, sea salt and pepper…The sauce is chilled and served with cook pasta…the preparation process is not any different from many cold noodles recipes. Here are our instagram snapshots of making Pasta Con Sugo Crudo from scratch!
Ingredients for the sugo crudo (raw sauce): Fresh organic tomatoes, basil, garlic, sea salt and pepper
Put out the flame…only ‘handpower’ is used in making the sauce…Extract the pulp from the tomatoes, julienne the basil leaves…
and mince the garlic…
Toss the pulp, basil leaves, and minced garlic into a salad bowl and season with sea salt and pepper…chille the mixture as you toss the pasta into the boiling water
When the pasta is cooked, allowed it to cool before tossing the noodles into the sauce…and voila!
Buon appetito!
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