Friday, October 22, 2010

Happy National Nut Day!!!

A few blog posts ago I professed my love for cashews, cashew cream and Tal Ronnen, so today is a very special day for me :-)

Tal Ronnen's wonderful book "The Conscious Cook" has both captivated and inspired me these past few months.  I have learned so much about cashews, almonds and vegan cooking, so today I thought it would be a good time to share one of my Tal Ronnen-inspired recipes.

Creamy Cashew Dip - perfect for vegans, the lactose-intolerant, those wishing to avoid cholesterol and all of us who love good healthy food. It is also raw, GF and extremely yummy! 



Ingredients
  • 2 cups of cashews (try and use whole nuts, broken ones work okay)
  • 1 tsp probiotic powder (Tal suggests New Chapter All-Flora)
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (I'm always generous with this and the onion powder)
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic salt or sea salt (your preference - I'm a Celtic salt lover, but I really think the hint of garlic is a nice addition to the dip flavor)
  • Freshly grated nutmeg (you might not think you can taste it, but you'll miss it if it's not there)
  • 0.5 tsp pepper (black or white, your preference)
Method
  • Soak cashews in filtered water in the fridge overnight
  • Next day, rinse and drain nuts and add to a food processor with 1 cup of fresh water
  • Mix nuts for several minutes into a smooth creamy consistency
  • Mix the probiotic powder with a tbsp of water and add to creamed nuts
  • Leave the mixture at room temperature overnight (I leave it in the Cuisinart on the kitchen counter)
  • Next day add nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic salt, nutmeg, pepper and mix well in the processor. 
  • Leave for 30mins to let the flavors fully meld together before serving
  • Serve dip with chips, fresh veggies, spread on bagels or use as a garnish on a bowl of veggie chili or lentil soup 
The dip can be stored in a refrigerator for about 5 days or frozen.  When I make this I split it into 3 portions and freeze 2 of them.

WARNING:  This dip can become addictive, please use caution.

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