Thursday, February 11, 2010

Cashew-Tofu Spread for Lasagna

I have been playing around with variations on the theme of a tofu and cashew based spread, having been inspired by various vegan ricotta and cream cheese recipes that rely on these ingredients. I have quickly come to wonder how I ever lived without a recipe like this. Adding cashews to the tofu makes it wonderfully creamy and rich without being oily, and it has a nice little tang from the garlic and lemon juice. The first version I made worked wonderfully on a pizza, and the leftovers were great on a tomato sandwich. This particular version was used in a transcendental batch of vegetable lasagna. I'll post other variants as I continue to experiment.

4 T olive oil
3 T soy milk
2 T lemon juice
2 T rice vinegar
2 t salt
3/4 c cashews
3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1.5 lbs tofu firm tofu, crumbled
1 T nutritional yeast
1 t dried basil

Blend liquids, salt, and cashews on low speed in a food processor until they form a thick, mostly smooth, paste.
Add tofu to food processor, blend on high speed until tofu is creamy and mostly smooth (it can still be a little grainy, but you don't want any big lumps). It may be best to add the tofu 1/3 at a time if your food processor can't handle all of it at once.
Add nutritional yeast and basil, blend until totally mixed.

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