This year I’ve been a lot of different nut butters to add some nutrition and variety to my breakfast routine. I was excited to see this month’s challenge – DIY nut butter – because buying it at the store can get pretty expensive!
The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.
Now I’m no stranger to using nuts in recipes, but I never considered starting with nut butter (even though I probably have without knowing it).
It’s been hot here in New England and with no air conditioning in the house I chose the recipe that involved the least amount of cooking – Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew Dressing. We’ve made a version of this before with peanut sauce, so homemade cashew butter dressing sounding like a tasty twist.
This was a great meal for a hot night and the leftovers were a perfect lunch the next day. Next time I run out of nut butter, maybe I’ll whip up my own instead of running to the store!
Recipe notes:
I used roasted, unsalted whole cashews and added a little canola oil to smooth out the butter
I rinsed the noodles in cold water and served everything cold
Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew Dressing
Yield: 4 servings
Adapted from recipe provided in challenge
Cashew Butter:
1 cup cashews
Cashew Dressing:
½ inch slice of fresh ginger, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, more or less to taste, chopped
½ cup cashew butter
¼ cup soy sauce
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons vinegar
3 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon water
Noodle Salad:
1 box rice vermicelli
1 large red bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into thin strips
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, sliced
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh lime basil
Lime wedges (optional)
Directions:
Make cashew butter:
Grind cashews in food processor for about 2 minutes until smooth. I added about a half tablespoon of canola oil to help smooth out the cashew butter.
Combine ginger, garlic, cashew butter, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and water in food processor with the cashew butter. Process until smooth. Be sure to process long enough to puree the ginger and garlic. The dressing should be pourable, about the same thickness as cream. Adjust consistency – thinner or thicker -- to your liking by adding more water or cashew butter. (If the cashew butter was unsalted, you may want to add salt to taste.) Makes about 1 ½ cups dressing. Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator.
The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.
Now I’m no stranger to using nuts in recipes, but I never considered starting with nut butter (even though I probably have without knowing it).
It’s been hot here in New England and with no air conditioning in the house I chose the recipe that involved the least amount of cooking – Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew Dressing. We’ve made a version of this before with peanut sauce, so homemade cashew butter dressing sounding like a tasty twist.
This was a great meal for a hot night and the leftovers were a perfect lunch the next day. Next time I run out of nut butter, maybe I’ll whip up my own instead of running to the store!
Recipe notes:
I used roasted, unsalted whole cashews and added a little canola oil to smooth out the butter
I rinsed the noodles in cold water and served everything cold
Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew Dressing
Yield: 4 servings
Adapted from recipe provided in challenge
Cashew Butter:
1 cup cashews
Cashew Dressing:
½ inch slice of fresh ginger, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, more or less to taste, chopped
½ cup cashew butter
¼ cup soy sauce
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons vinegar
3 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon water
Noodle Salad:
1 box rice vermicelli
1 large red bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into thin strips
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, sliced
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh lime basil
Lime wedges (optional)
Directions:
Make cashew butter:
Grind cashews in food processor for about 2 minutes until smooth. I added about a half tablespoon of canola oil to help smooth out the cashew butter.
Combine ginger, garlic, cashew butter, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and water in food processor with the cashew butter. Process until smooth. Be sure to process long enough to puree the ginger and garlic. The dressing should be pourable, about the same thickness as cream. Adjust consistency – thinner or thicker -- to your liking by adding more water or cashew butter. (If the cashew butter was unsalted, you may want to add salt to taste.) Makes about 1 ½ cups dressing. Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator.
Prepare noodles according to package instructions in salted water. Rinse and drain noodles. Set aside.
Slice basil into thin ribbons. Combine noodles, bell pepper, cucumber, onions, and basil in a large bowl.
Plate individual servings of noodles and toss each with about 2 tablespoons of dressing. Top with the vegetables and basil and serve with a lime wedge.
