Cashew Cream Sauce
Prep Time: Overnight and 10 minutes | Yield: 2 cups
Many of us don’t use heavy cream or mayo in the house for various reasons, whether it be to cut back on some of the fat or we’re vegan or allergic to dairy or eggs. As long as you can have nuts, here’s a simple solution to most of your creamy cooking needs.
You can find cashew butter (like almond butter or peanut butter) at Whole Foods and other healthfood stores, but 12 oz bottles of raw organic cashew butter can run up to $16. Organic raw cashews are no more than $7 a pound so why not make your own at home? You would need a food processor or a Vita-Mix to cream up un-soaked nuts but you can make cashew cream in any old blender! For small batches, I use my trusty magic bullet.
Also, though cashew butter is delicious, it still has that nutty taste that you might want to do without in some recipes. Soaking your nuts before processing it is a way to remove some of that tree-nut taste.
I make a whole bunch at once, fill some ice cube trays or small containers and store it in the freezer for future use.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup organic raw cashews
- lemon juice (more or less as desired)
- water (optional)
Instructions:
- Soak cashews overnight. If you leave it for more than 24 hours, make sure to change the water. (Do not leave it for more than a couple of days or they’ll go bad.)
- When you’re ready, strain the water from the nuts and put in blender. Squeeze in some lemon juice from 1 or 2 lemons as desired. The lemon will help keep the cream fresh.
- Blend until smooth.
- Use in recipes right away or freeze in ice cube trays/ small containers for later use.
- It’ll keep in the fridge for a few days.
