In case you are wondering, I did not make these or eat these together. Though it probably wouldn’t be a terrible combination. I have a pretty long list of recipes I want to post so I just thought I would put the two sauce/spreads together.
I quickly threw together this creamy cashew spread to put on some wraps with a black bean and brown rice mixture I’d taken out of the freezer (actually leftover filling from my homemade frozen burritos). It has a bright tang from the lime juice and a mild chipotle flavour, because my bean and rice mixture was already quite spicy. Feel free to up the chipotle if it suits you.
Ingredients
Chipotle Lime Cashew Cream
1/2 cup raw cashews
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp agave
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
pinch of sea salt
3 tbsp water (or more if you would like it more sauce-like)
Add all ingredients to a food processor (I used my mini one) or blender and process until smooth. Add more water if desired and process. If not using at once, transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate. This will firm up a bit when cold, but you can bring it back to room temperature before serving. Enjoy!
This spread went really well with my Mexican-spiced bean and rice mixture, and would go well with anything of similar flavour. Try it as a creamy salad dressing for a taco salad, as a spread on burgers (I really like these Southwest Quinoa Veggie Burgers, especially with sweet potato instead of potato), sandwiches, and wraps, in a (vegan) quesadilla, or maybe stirred into some black bean soup.
I made this kale pesto a couple of weeks ago when I had a bunch of kale lurking in my fridge and no time (or need) to make any meals with it. It only takes a few minutes to make the pesto, and it can be frozen if you don’t need it right away (I freeze it in ice-cube trays then pop out into a plastic bag). I’ve found having pesto on hand in the freezer is very helpful when I’m in need of a quick meal. It can quickly liven up any pizza, pasta, or tofu scramble, and gives a great flavour boost to wraps and sandwiches as well.
Kale Pesto
1 bunch of kale
1/2 cup packed basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3/4 cup walnuts
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp sea salt
Juice and zest of one lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
Thoroughly wash kale and remove the leaves from the stem. Discard thick stems. Place everything, except for the kale, in a food processor. You will not be able to fit all of the kale in at first, but add about 1/3 of it (amount will depend on your food processor). Pulse a few times until your processor no longer looks full. Scrape pesto down sides of the bowl, and add more kale. Keep doing this until you’ve added the whole bunch of kale. You will be finished when there are no large pieces or walnut, basil, or kale left.
Sorry I didn’t take any photos while making this, but it should be very quick and simple, and you’ll end up with a gorgeous green spread/sauce.
Enjoy!
Here, I used the Kale Pesto on pasta with some crumbled Chile Lime Tofu Nuggets (recipe coming soon):
One Small Vegan 