One night a week or so ago S had an express wish for a kale salad with white sauce. He wanted to use almond milk, but I couldn't work out how that would make things thick and creamy enough for his dream. So I suggested soaking cashews. I put some in water in the fridge a couple of nights ago, and last night S completed his dream salad. I was sure I'd seen the cashew dressing idea somewhere, but now I have no idea where, so we just made it up.
For the dressing:
1 cup raw cashews
2 cups water
1-2 tbsp white miso
1/2 clove garlic, peeled
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp lemon juice (or cider vinegar)
1-2 tbsp almond milk (and more for good consistency)
black pepper
Rest of the salad:
1 bunch kale
2 medium tomatoes
~2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
~1 tbsp dried sour cherries
Put the cashews in a container with the water and leave in the fridge to soak, at least overnight; fine for several days (we used ours after ~ 48 hours).
When ready for salad, drain the cashews. Put into blender cup and add miso, olive oil, lemon juice, almond milk and black pepper. Blend the dressing until smooth, adding more almond milk if needed, until a good, creamy consistency is reached. Taste for seasoning.
Wash the kale, remove stalks and tear the leaves into bite sized pieces. Put in a serving bowl. Add the dressing and mix well with your hands, massaging the kale as you go.
Chop the tomatoes roughly and add them to the salad with the almonds and sour cherries. Toss and taste for seasoning. Eat straight away, or keeps pretty well in the fridge (consider keeping toasted almonds separately if planning to store it).
Showing posts with label cashew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cashew. Show all posts
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Christmas: Nut loaf
Turns out S had never eaten a nut roast. So, almost as a joke, I made one for our Christmas lunch. I liked the idea of incorporating parsnips (double the Christmassiness) and when I came across this recipe I decided it was the one. I interpreted the ingredient list pretty loosely, using up various nuts etc we had lying around.
300g parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
100g walnuts
90g unsalted cashews (used mixture of cashews and almonds)
200g breadcrumbs
100g pine nuts (used mixture of slivered almonds and sunflower seeds)
~2 tsp crumbled dried rosemary
~2 tsp crumbled dried sage
~ 1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper
50g cranberries (used ~2 tbsp dried sour cherries, rehydrated by soaking in ~ 2 tbsp boiling water)
1 egg (or 1 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 2.5 tbsp boiling water)
another ~1 tbsp olive oil
cranberry chutney or sauce (and a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or parsley) to serve
Heat the oven to 180C / 356F. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the parsnips until tender. In a frying pan heat 1 tbsp olive oil, add the onion and garlic and cook until softened.
Meanwhile, pulse the walnuts and cashews in a blender until roughly chopped and then mix with the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Add the onions, garlic, pine nuts, rosemary, sage, nutmeg, sour cherries or cranberries and seasoning to the mix. Then beat in the egg.
When the parsnips are tender, drain and mash roughly with ~1 tbsp olive oil. Add the parsnip mash to the rest of the mixture. Grease a large loaf tin (and maybe line the base*), then press the mixture into it. Bake for 50-55 min, until set. Let cool for ten min, then turn out.
To serve, warm up some cranberry sauce with some added fresh cranberries (or use cranberry chutney), spoon it over the top of the nut roast, and decorate with cranberries and fresh herbs (I used two cranberries and a piece of parsley to make some kitschy-looking pretend holly.
This was really surprisingly good - deliciously crunchy around the edges but tender in the middle. Quite nutty and appetising, although the parsnips got a bit lost - another time I might mash them less or not at all. Definitely needed some sauce - luckily I had some cranberry chutney squirreled away, which was perfect (suddenly I see the point of all that preserving through Summer and Autumn - instant food in Winter!).
*I didn't grease or anything at all and it stuck to the base a little bit - not horrendously but a bit (I suspected it might, but thought I'd try the minimal effort route first). To avoid this, I'd definitely try greasing; potentially also lining the base.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
More golden food: vegan 'cheese sauce' with moghrabieh
We had a leaving party at the weekend for a colleague who is moving to France. My boss's wife has a tradition of making 'American food' for such events, and this time is was macaroni cheese. S couldn't make it to the party, but I got to thinking yesterday about how he used to love cheese sauce when I made it before I stopped eating cheese, and also how it is a good, warming, comforting thing to eat with cauliflower or chard or similar. So I was thinking about whether a vegan alternative would be remotely viable (a vegan white sauce would be easy enough, but how to make it cheesy?), and consulted ppk - seemed like the obvious place to start. I found this recipe there. The ingredient list looked somewhat weird - sauerkraut?! But actually we have a huge jar of sauerkraut in the fridge that S bought and decided he didn't like. And way better than anything involving fake cheese. So, much though I feared it might turn out disgusting, I thought I'd give the recipe a try.
3/4 cup cashews, soaked (perhaps blanched almonds would be an alternative)
2 cups veg stock, divided
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 cup sauerkraut
1/6 cup plain flour
black pepper
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
To soak the cashews, put them in a bowl and submerge in hot water. Leave for at least an hour, preferably 2 hours or overnight.
Prep whatever you want to eat with the sauce in parallel or in advance: pasta, cauliflower, whatever (I boiled some moghrabieh in the same way as I would pasta).
Put the soaked cashews and 1 cup of the veg stock in the blender and blend until smooth.
Meanwhile, heat a large pan over medium heat, then fry the onions and garlic and a pinch of salt in half a tablespoon of the oil, until onions are softened. Drain the sauerkraut in a sieve, squeezing it in your hands to remove as much of the wetness as possible. Add sauerkraut to the pan just to heat through, a minute or two.
Add the sauerkraut mixture to the cashew mixture in the blender. Blend until smooth.
Wipe out the pan reheat it over a medium heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil, along with the flour. It should become a gooey clump. Toast the roux for about 15 minutes, until it smells toasty and turns medium brown. Stir constantly so that it cooks evenly.
Gradually pour in the remaining cup of stock, whisking constantly so that it doesn’t go lumpy. Whisk until thick and smooth, about 2 minutes.
Add the cashew sauerkraut mixture, and whisk until well incorporated. Add the black pepper, nutritional yeast if using, salt and lemon juice. Heat through and stir occasionally, allowing the mixture to thicken.
(If you want to make a baked macaroni cheese, at this point heat oven to 350F and grease an 11 x 13 oven dish with olive oil, then mix the cooked pasta back with the sauce and put it in the oven dish, cover with tin foil and bake for 20 min, remove foil and bake 5 more min... Otherwise just mix the hot sauce with whatever)
It worked amazingly well! The sauce was not completely smooth, neither was it exactly like cheese sauce, but it did have a creamy, comforting texture and consistency, and it tasted really mellow and interesting (the sauerkraut definitely remained secretive). S liked it too (I only told him about the sauerkraut after he'd tried it). Perhaps that sauerkraut will get eaten after all (I'll have to stock up on cashews...). This quantity was plenty for S and I - would prob serve 4 - and the leftovers keep well in a pot in the fridge (unlike non-veg cheese sauce). Other recipes I saw use miso to get that 'matured' taste - perhaps I will try that too (if we ever run out of sauerkraut).
3/4 cup cashews, soaked (perhaps blanched almonds would be an alternative)
2 cups veg stock, divided
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 cup sauerkraut
1/6 cup plain flour
black pepper
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
To soak the cashews, put them in a bowl and submerge in hot water. Leave for at least an hour, preferably 2 hours or overnight.
Prep whatever you want to eat with the sauce in parallel or in advance: pasta, cauliflower, whatever (I boiled some moghrabieh in the same way as I would pasta).
Put the soaked cashews and 1 cup of the veg stock in the blender and blend until smooth.
Meanwhile, heat a large pan over medium heat, then fry the onions and garlic and a pinch of salt in half a tablespoon of the oil, until onions are softened. Drain the sauerkraut in a sieve, squeezing it in your hands to remove as much of the wetness as possible. Add sauerkraut to the pan just to heat through, a minute or two.
Add the sauerkraut mixture to the cashew mixture in the blender. Blend until smooth.
Wipe out the pan reheat it over a medium heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil, along with the flour. It should become a gooey clump. Toast the roux for about 15 minutes, until it smells toasty and turns medium brown. Stir constantly so that it cooks evenly.
Gradually pour in the remaining cup of stock, whisking constantly so that it doesn’t go lumpy. Whisk until thick and smooth, about 2 minutes.
Add the cashew sauerkraut mixture, and whisk until well incorporated. Add the black pepper, nutritional yeast if using, salt and lemon juice. Heat through and stir occasionally, allowing the mixture to thicken.
(If you want to make a baked macaroni cheese, at this point heat oven to 350F and grease an 11 x 13 oven dish with olive oil, then mix the cooked pasta back with the sauce and put it in the oven dish, cover with tin foil and bake for 20 min, remove foil and bake 5 more min... Otherwise just mix the hot sauce with whatever)
It worked amazingly well! The sauce was not completely smooth, neither was it exactly like cheese sauce, but it did have a creamy, comforting texture and consistency, and it tasted really mellow and interesting (the sauerkraut definitely remained secretive). S liked it too (I only told him about the sauerkraut after he'd tried it). Perhaps that sauerkraut will get eaten after all (I'll have to stock up on cashews...). This quantity was plenty for S and I - would prob serve 4 - and the leftovers keep well in a pot in the fridge (unlike non-veg cheese sauce). Other recipes I saw use miso to get that 'matured' taste - perhaps I will try that too (if we ever run out of sauerkraut).
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Baked aubergine
S bought a gigantic aubergine from the market, I think just because it was so huge. It was massive - almost head-sized. Used half for baba ghanoush, and the other half for this.
2 tsp coriander seed
2 tsp cumin seed
1/4 tsp chili flakes
salt
2 1/2 tbsp cashews
1 clove garlic
squeeze of lemon juice
2 1/2 tbsp almond milk
olive oil
salt and pepper
chopped coriander leaves
Heat oven to ~450F. Cut the aubergine into 1 cm thick slices. Squeeze into clean cloth / paper to remove any excess liquid. Grease a roasting tin with olive oil. Rub both sides of slices with olive oil. Toast the cumin and coriander seed in a frying pan til fragrant. Put into spice grinder and add the chili flakes and some salt. Whizz to a powder. Sprinkle 1/4 of the powder on the aubergine slices arranged in the roasting tin. Put in the oven for 10-15 min. Then turn over and sprinkle with another 1/4 of powder. Put back in the oven for another 10-15min, til lightly browned and softened. Meanwhile, whizz the cashews and garlic in the spice grinder til smooth. Mix in a small bowl with the remaining spice powder, lemon juice and almond milk til a smooth and creamy texture. Serve aubergine with sauce and coriander leaves on top.
Tasty. Plenty of potential for varying spice mix. Pretty simple. The sauce was really good - I liked the cashews as an interesting taste / texture.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Barley, green stuff and marinated tofu
I was looking for things to do with the za'atar I bought at the Armenian store - found this:
ottolenghi pearl barley tabbouleh @ Guardian
Serves four.
40g pearl barley
100g feta (substituted firm tofu, well drained)
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 tsp za'atar
½ tsp coriander seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
¼ tsp ground cumin
80g parsley, leaves and stems (may have been a bit short, was still fine)
4 spring onions (about 40g in total), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed (just used one - am nervous of too much raw garlic)
40g cashew nuts, lightly toasted and crushed roughly
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into 1cm dice (used a poblano - no spice to it anyway)
½ tsp ground allspice
2 tbsp lemon juice
60ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Put the pearl barley in a small saucepan, cover with water and boil for 30-35 minutes, until tender but still with a bite. Drain into a fine sieve, shake to remove all the water and transfer to a large bowl.
Break the feta/tofu into rough pieces about 2cm in size, and mix in a small bowl with the olive oil, za'atar, coriander seeds and cumin. Gently mix together and leave to marinate while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Chop the parsley finely and place in a bowl with the spring onion, garlic, cashew nuts, green pepper, allspice, lemon juice, olive oil and cooked pearl barley. Mix well together and season to taste.
To serve, divide the salad between four plates and top with the marinated feta/tofu.
It was good - liked the green tastes and spices. The marinade worked well on the tofu - texturally different than feta would have been but still good I think. I like za'atar.
ottolenghi pearl barley tabbouleh @ Guardian
Serves four.
40g pearl barley
100g feta (substituted firm tofu, well drained)
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 tsp za'atar
½ tsp coriander seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
¼ tsp ground cumin
80g parsley, leaves and stems (may have been a bit short, was still fine)
4 spring onions (about 40g in total), finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed (just used one - am nervous of too much raw garlic)
40g cashew nuts, lightly toasted and crushed roughly
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into 1cm dice (used a poblano - no spice to it anyway)
½ tsp ground allspice
2 tbsp lemon juice
60ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Put the pearl barley in a small saucepan, cover with water and boil for 30-35 minutes, until tender but still with a bite. Drain into a fine sieve, shake to remove all the water and transfer to a large bowl.
Break the feta/tofu into rough pieces about 2cm in size, and mix in a small bowl with the olive oil, za'atar, coriander seeds and cumin. Gently mix together and leave to marinate while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Chop the parsley finely and place in a bowl with the spring onion, garlic, cashew nuts, green pepper, allspice, lemon juice, olive oil and cooked pearl barley. Mix well together and season to taste.
To serve, divide the salad between four plates and top with the marinated feta/tofu.
It was good - liked the green tastes and spices. The marinade worked well on the tofu - texturally different than feta would have been but still good I think. I like za'atar.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Things with coconut milk
Had most of a tin of coconut milk left from Seb's birthday cake - somehow ended up making many things from it...
Coconut rice
1/4 large red onion, sliced
4 cardamom pods, crushed slightly
cup basmati rice
tsp veg oil
cup of coconut milk
cup of water
Heat oil in a saucepan and then fry the onion til soft. Add rice and cardamom and stir / fry a couple min. Add coconut milk and water and bring to boil. Cook ~ 10min til rice is done, then leave with lid on for 10 more min. Fluff with a fork before serving.
-pretty good.
Beetroot brinjal coconut curry
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove
~1 red chili (taste)
1/3 lemongrass stalk
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp coriander seed
1/3 tsp fennel seed
1 tbsp veg oil
150g raw beetroot (1 large beetroot) peeled and cut into chunks
bits of aubergine equivalent to 2 baby aubergines, quartered
70ml veg stock
100ml coconut milk
salt and pepper
handful raw cashews
Liquidise onion, garlic, chili, lemongrass. Dry roast cumin, coriander and fennel to dark brown, then grind. Heat oil. Add onion paste and cook for a few min, then add ground spices. When combined add beetroot and aubergine. Fry for 2min high. Add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer til soft (~30min). Add coconut milk and simmer for 5 min. Dry roast cashews and use as garnish.
This was tasty. Bit faffy with paste and ground dry spices, and took awhile to cook. But several of my favourite things, and bright pink of course. Based on a recipe I copied from a book of Shireen's awhile ago - I don't remember the title.
Coconut veg curry
2 tbsp veg oil
1 1/2 tsp coriander seed
1 1/2 tsp cumin seed
2/3 tbsp cardamom seed
1 onion, sliced
1 large sweet potato, diced roughly
3cm chunk of ginger, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
300ml coconut milk
1 small red chili, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime and few shards of zest
~ 6 stalks of kale - greens separated from stalks and chopped separately
3/4 a large red pepper
about 1/4 a large aubergine
Dry-fry the spices til fragrant, then grind. Heat the oil and saute the onion for ~ 12 min til browned. Add sweet potato, ground spices, ginger, garlic, coconut, chili, lime zest. Cover and simmer ~12min. Add kale stems, aubergine, red pepper, simmer ~4min. Simmer til veg are semi cooked. Add kale leaves and simmer uncovered until kale is wilted and sauce is thick. Add lime juice (and fresh coriander if I'd had it), taste for seasoning. Sit for 10min before serving.
Suggested addition was: Put 50g sunflower seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seed, 1 tsp caster sugar, pinch salt in nonstick pan and put on high heat. Stir for 3-4 min til sugar dissolves and coats seeds. Set aside to cool.
Overegged the chili and the cardamom slightly - next time use less. Otherwise a tasty veggie mess. Reckon you could use any combination of veggies - I based this on a more complicated recipe using okra, carrots, butternut squash and cauliflower instead of sweet potato, kale, red pepper and aubergine.
Coconut rice
1/4 large red onion, sliced
4 cardamom pods, crushed slightly
cup basmati rice
tsp veg oil
cup of coconut milk
cup of water
Heat oil in a saucepan and then fry the onion til soft. Add rice and cardamom and stir / fry a couple min. Add coconut milk and water and bring to boil. Cook ~ 10min til rice is done, then leave with lid on for 10 more min. Fluff with a fork before serving.
-pretty good.
Beetroot brinjal coconut curry
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove
~1 red chili (taste)
1/3 lemongrass stalk
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp coriander seed
1/3 tsp fennel seed
1 tbsp veg oil
150g raw beetroot (1 large beetroot) peeled and cut into chunks
bits of aubergine equivalent to 2 baby aubergines, quartered
70ml veg stock
100ml coconut milk
salt and pepper
handful raw cashews
Liquidise onion, garlic, chili, lemongrass. Dry roast cumin, coriander and fennel to dark brown, then grind. Heat oil. Add onion paste and cook for a few min, then add ground spices. When combined add beetroot and aubergine. Fry for 2min high. Add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer til soft (~30min). Add coconut milk and simmer for 5 min. Dry roast cashews and use as garnish.
This was tasty. Bit faffy with paste and ground dry spices, and took awhile to cook. But several of my favourite things, and bright pink of course. Based on a recipe I copied from a book of Shireen's awhile ago - I don't remember the title.
Coconut veg curry
2 tbsp veg oil
1 1/2 tsp coriander seed
1 1/2 tsp cumin seed
2/3 tbsp cardamom seed
1 onion, sliced
1 large sweet potato, diced roughly
3cm chunk of ginger, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
300ml coconut milk
1 small red chili, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime and few shards of zest
~ 6 stalks of kale - greens separated from stalks and chopped separately
3/4 a large red pepper
about 1/4 a large aubergine
Dry-fry the spices til fragrant, then grind. Heat the oil and saute the onion for ~ 12 min til browned. Add sweet potato, ground spices, ginger, garlic, coconut, chili, lime zest. Cover and simmer ~12min. Add kale stems, aubergine, red pepper, simmer ~4min. Simmer til veg are semi cooked. Add kale leaves and simmer uncovered until kale is wilted and sauce is thick. Add lime juice (and fresh coriander if I'd had it), taste for seasoning. Sit for 10min before serving.
Suggested addition was: Put 50g sunflower seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seed, 1 tsp caster sugar, pinch salt in nonstick pan and put on high heat. Stir for 3-4 min til sugar dissolves and coats seeds. Set aside to cool.
Overegged the chili and the cardamom slightly - next time use less. Otherwise a tasty veggie mess. Reckon you could use any combination of veggies - I based this on a more complicated recipe using okra, carrots, butternut squash and cauliflower instead of sweet potato, kale, red pepper and aubergine.
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