#CASHEW CREAM SAUCE HOW TO#
#CASHEW CREAM SAUCE PATCH#

(Note: If you use cashew cream in sweet applications, you'll need to sweeten it to better approximate the sweetness of real dairy.) Thinned to the right consistency, cashew cream brings a rich smoothness to everything from chowder to creamy pasta sauces. The fix is to make sure that your cashew cream is a little thinner than the dairy it's replacing. That's because heat causes its plentiful starch particles to swell and gelatinize. While true cream gets thinner and more fluid when you heat it because the tiny fat globules that make up more than 35 percent of its bulk melt, cashew cream gets thicker. It turns out that you need to take care in how viscous you make the cashew cream. But what about cooking with this ersatz dairy? I don’t expect everyone to be plant-based or plant-forward, but if you open yourself up to experiences and make a little bit of change, you’re going to get interested in something new that is good for your health and good for the planet.Thanks to a composition that's low in fiber and high in starch, cashews can be blended with water to create a thick, satiny “cream” that we've found works beautifully as a vegan sub for sour cream and mayonnaise in creamy salad dressings. We’re not trying to replace meat, but this is something that’s incredibly tasty that you should try. I’m always honest that we’re not trying to fool people. I’ll come out into the café with samples of dishes we’ve created so our guests can taste test them. I think getting people to try something new is the best way to get them interested in eating more plant-based and plant-forward foods. Ethiopian, Thai, and even Italian food for that matter have a lot of recipes that don’t require meat. There are so many different cuisines around the world that don’t rely on meat-based proteins.

I love educating people about plant-based cooking and introducing them to new dishes. I love this dish because it gives me everything that I’m looking for in a sexy, satisfying Italian pasta dish without having to add meat or the traditional dairy products. Traditionally this dish is created with regular semolina flour, however a suitable alternative is to use whole wheat or even whole grain pasta such as a quinoa-based one. Its smoky flavor pairs with the crispy texture of the mushrooms and gives you flavor and textural elements that resemble bacon or pancetta. The dish I’m sharing is a wild mushroom carbonara. At home, my wife and I make a spicy dish with eggplant and mushrooms that have a similar character to chorizo, though we don’t call it that.

#CASHEW CREAM SAUCE HOW TO#

I prefer to show people how to use whole vegetables and grains like beets, mushrooms, and quinoa to make interesting dishes rather than relying on vegan meat alternatives. Lately we’ve been making a butternut squash soup that has depth and complexity from a smoked butternut squash and a texture from cashews that mimics cream. Like if you’re doing a pasta carbonara, instead of the bacon or pancetta, you can caramelize mushrooms and get them really crispy and have a similar effect. When I’m introducing chefs to plant-based cooking, I encourage them to use a lot of the techniques they already know and would use for meat-focused dishes to make food that’s just as delicious, beautiful, and technically sound. While the entire program isn’t plant-based, the executive chef and the whole culinary team are really interested in learning how to make delicious plant-based food. Where I work now, at a major Bay Area technology company, there’s a lot of interest in and support for plant-based cooking. I’ve been a plant-based chef for a wide variety of technology and creative companies in Northern and Southern California and now I get to train and inspire teams in plant-based techniques. For a while I had to battle some internal demons because I was still a chef in a company that loves food and not everyone wants to be plant-based. I developed a love and passion for plant-based cooking and where it could take me. I dropped a ton of weight and started training for a marathon and cycling. I fell in love with vegan cooking and eating and embraced it “cold turkey.” (Yes, I recognize the irony in that statement).

#CASHEW CREAM SAUCE PATCH#

I had been going through a rough patch personally and needed to make a change in my life. In 2013, I was introduced to vegan cuisine by my now wife who has been vegan for 30 years.

Cashew cream sauce