Salad Dressings Made With Nuts

I’m kind of obsessed with making dressings, sauces and desserts with nuts. I think most of us vegan are (who are not allergic to nuts). Cashews get the most use around here because they take on a flavor and texture similar to milk products, making it the perfect substitute in vegan cooking. Last week I made a cashew-based dressing out of Bryan Au’s book Raw in 10 Minutes. I’m all about raw food, but I don’t want it to take forever, so I like the idea of this book. It was gifted to me by my friend Lindsey and I will probably make more things from it when it gets warm again. But, like many self-published books you will find typos, recipes not in a normal format, and other cookbook faux pas (I think he may have an update addition out).

Please don’t think I took the easy way out by choosing a dressing recipe as part of Cookbook Mania. I’m trying to eat more salads in winter and a rich and creamy dressing helps make that possible! Susan at Fat-free Vegan Kitchen posted an awesome and timely blog about how to get more motivated to eat salad in the winter. Brilliant. In my salad you’ll find romaine, cucumber, carrot, cabbage and avocado with my raw nut meat sprinkled all over. A simple salad which was made into something divine with this dressing.

A couple of weeks ago I asked around to see if the Magic Bullet was worth it and I’ve been using it to make dressings and sauces. It’s nice to use for small amounts of liquid and easy to clean up. Be sure to always soak your nuts though for at least a few hours! This can either be made thick and chunky for a spread or raw tacos, or add water to get a more silky dressing texture. You could add extra-virgin olive oil, which is what Bryan suggests when making this a dressing, but I thought it was fine without it.

Red Lava Dressing

adapted from Raw in 10 Minutes by Bryan Au

Makes about 1 cup dressing

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked 2-4 hours

1/2 cup red pepper, diced

1 tablespoon white miso

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

1-2 tablespoons sweetener (liquid or granulated is fine)

Filtered water, as needed

Sea salt, to taste

Preparation

Drain cashews and blend with the rest of ingredients until smooth and creamy. Add water to get the consistency you prefer. Season with salt as needed, and adjust sweetness to your preference.

What are some of your nut-based dressing recipes?