Cashew queso

If you like cheese and are trying not to eat as much cheese and you are craving cheese go make this queso dip.

Isa saves the day again!

Here is the recipe. We dipped fresh cut veggies, apple slices and blue corn chips in this. Yum! It's really good leftover and re-heated too. This dish takes a bit of work to make but it's totally worth it. A real crowd-pleaser, even with a non-vegan crowd. Serve hot.

Ingredients:

1 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours or overnight
2 cups veg broth
2 Tbs white miso
2 tsp cornstarch or arrowroot
1 Tbs olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and sliced (keep seeds if you want more heat)
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ancho pepper (or any mild ground red chili)
2 Tbs nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice

1. Drain the cashews. In a blender or food processor, purée them with vegetable broth, miso and cornstarch until very smooth. This could take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes depending on your device. Rub between your fingers to test; slight graininess is okay, but try to get it as smooth as possible.

2. In the meantime, preheat a 4 quart pot over medium heat. Sauté onion, red pepper and jalapeño in oil with a pinch of salt until soft, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté about a minute more.

3. Transfer vegetables to the blender where the cashew mixture is. Add cumin, ancho, nutritional yeast and salt. Blend again until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender with a spatula to make sure you get everything.

4. Transfer mixture back to the pot. Whisking often, turn heat up to medium until the queso comes to a slow rolling boil. Lower heat so that it doesn't burn and cook for about 20 minutes. Whisk often and check to see that it's thickening. If it's not, then turn the heat up a bit. It should become nicely thickened but velvety and pourable.

5. Stir in the lemon juice at the end. If the queso seems too thick, drizzle in a little water and whisk to desired consistency. Taste for salt, spices and lemon juice and adjust as you like.

Photo courtesy of Post Punk Kitchen site