High in protein, fibre and healthy fats, cashews make a delicious creamy mixture when blended. The key is to use raw cashews and soak them for a few hours before you use them. This recipe is by Monique Volz from Ambitiouskitchen.com and she likens the flavour to nacho cheese.
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more to thin if necessary
- 1 jalapeno, chopped (feel free to deseed or leave out if sensitive to spice)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
Recipe
To make the cashew cheese sauce: soak the cashews in 4 cups of water for at least 2 hours; otherwise you can easily speed up the process by adding the raw cashews to a pot with water and placing over high heat. Bring water to a boil, then immediately turn off the heat; let the cashews sit for 30-45 minutes in the warm water, then drain.
Once the cashews have finished soaking you'll be ready to make the sauce: add drained cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, almond milk, jalapeno, turmeric, paprika, onion powder, dijon mustard, salt and black pepper to a high powered blender. Blend until a thick sauce comes together. If you want a thinner sauce, add a bit more almond milk. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Enjoy!