Cashew Spread
Rebecca Hawlinson
http://rebeccasremedy.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/cashew-spread/
This pate is great to use in lettuce or nori wraps or you can use to dip veggies. It is a much healthier alternative to sour cream, cream cheese or something dairy and fattening. You could also make it thinner to use as a creamy salad dressing. I like to make spreads like this early in the week and keep some in the fridge for quick snacks and meals.
INGREDIENTS:
•1/4 cup Water
•2-3 tblsp olive oil
•2 cups soaked raw cashews (it’s very important for you to soak raw nuts before consuming them. Check out why here: http://www.raw-food-living.com/soaking-nuts.html)
•Juice of half lemon
•fresh-grated garlic
•spicy: fresh-grated garlic (the longer the garlic is in the mixture the stronger it gets), fresh-grated ginger root, chilies, cayenne pepper, or some sliced jalapeno pepperfresh dried herb of choice (I used fresh tarragon & 2 crushed dried red chili peppers)
•Bitter: fresh cilantro (or your fresh or dried herb of choice), or poultry seasoning
•Salty: Celtic Sea Salt, dulce (a dried, salty seaweed) and soy sauce, tamari or shoyu (These are just three grades of the same thing.)
•** I added a tblsp of tahini
MIXING:
1.Blend the nuts until finely ground in the food processor or blender
2.Add a bit of water slowly until a thick “goop” forms.
3.Add a few cloves of fresh garlic and slices of ginger root.
4.Add some olive oil, Celtic Sea Salt and blend.
5.Taste. If too sweet, add some lemon or lime juice. If too thick for the blender to handle, add more water.
6.Then make adjustments for sweet, sour, spicy, salty, and bitter using the above ingredients or substitutes. (I found that the chilies, garlic, salt, soy sauce, lemon juice and ginger were key for balancing the sweetness of the cashews or nuts.)
7.For extra spicy, add 1 whole chopped jalapeno pepper or other chili pepper.
8.Blend and at the end, add dried or fresh basil or cilantro or your favorite herb.
(If you blend too much at the end, the green herbs will turn it an unappetizing greenish beige.)
