This gorgeous dip is full of decadent, rich taste – and protein packed! By the exceptionally creative Alanna Taylor-Tobin, originally published on The Bojon Gourmet. you can see her original post for gorgeous step-by-step images.
{Vegan} Cashew + Sun-Dried Tomato Dip
Top a bowl of this dip with good olive oil, cracked black pepper, and flaky salt and serve with crackers and olives for a snack. Or use as a spread for roasted vegetable sandwiches. The dip can also be thinned with a little pasta water and tossed with pasta, chopped tomatoes, and more basil for a zippy sauce. For a nut-free version, you could probably use sunflower seeds in place of the cashews. And for a non-vegan version, I’d imagine you could trade the cashews for cream cheese, goat cheese, or a combination. This dip keeps well, refrigerated, for at least a week.
Makes a scant 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (5 ounces / 140 grams) “raw” cashews, covered with a few inches of cool water and soaked 8-24 hours
- 1 (8-ounce / 225 gram) jar olive oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, oil reserved
- 4-8 tablespoons lemon juice (to taste, from 1-2 lemons)
- 3-4 large garlic cloves (to taste)
- large handful of basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons good olive oil or oil from the tomatoes
- 4-8 tablespoons unsweetened plant milk (such as almond) or water, as needed to smooth the mixture
- good olive oil, pepper, and flaky salt for topping the dip
- crackers
Do it:
Drain the soaked cashews and discard the soaking water. Place them in the body of a food processor with the drained tomatoes, 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice, 3 of the garlic cloves, basil leaves, smoked paprika, salt, and oil. Process until smooth, adding the plant milk little by little to help the mixture turn over, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, about 5 minutes. Taste, adding more lemon or garlic to punch up the flavors as you like. I’ve noticed that the garlic flavor starts out soft, but will become stronger as the mixture sits. Use right away, or chill airtight for up to 1 week.
Alanna is a recovering pastry chef who loves sharing fresh, seasonal recipes from her San Francisco kitchen via her blog, The Bojon Gourmet (bojon = no job, backwards). Learn more about the Tao of Bojon here.