Savory (or Sweet!) Cashew Cream
By Claire Georgiou, Reboot Naturopath, B.HSc ND
The first time I tried cashew cream I thought I was in dairy free heaven. I was in the middle of cattle country Armidale in 1999 in the northwest of New South Wales on a university residential and we found a little vegan Italian restaurant (not what we were expecting !). I was so excited – they offered a pizza with a dairy free creamy sauce drizzled all over it, it was so delicious and I have never forgotten it. When I returned home I made a few batches based on what information I could get out of them then I ate this with everything for a period of time. This can also be made into a sweet cream substitute to drizzle over desserts.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150 g) raw cashews
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup (125 – 190 ml) filtered water (add more water according to consistency desired)
- Savory Cashew Cream
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)
- 1 garlic clove (optional)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
- Sweet Cashew Cream
- 2-4 tbsp honey or pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Soak the cashews in filtered water for 3 hrs or more then strain.
- Add the cashews and fresh filtered water to the blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients depending on whether you were making a sweet or savory cream, then blend until smooth.
- Savory Cashew Cream can be used as a pizza topping, to a healthy pasta dish, over vegetables, baked dishes, casseroles, healthy Mexican meals, as a salad dressing (this can be thinned down with extra olive oil) or anywhere were you may have added a savory creamy sauce!
- Sweet Cashew Cream can be drizzled over fruit and healthy desserts.
Prep Time: 3 hours (to soak cashews) plus 10 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 16
Serving Size: 2 - 4 tbsp
Calories: 40
Fat: 3g
Trans Fat: 0.5g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 20mg
Carbohydrates: 3g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 1g