Kale & Chickpeas with Creamy Cashew Sauce

This is another one of our favorite meals, the cashew sauce is super decadent and you won’t believe it’s actually non-dairy. Who knew raw cashews could be turned into something so delicious! My toddler and hubby love this dish and ask for it often… my daughter says “cweme sauce peas Mommy” (for those of you who understand 2-year old lingo!). This makes fantastic leftovers as well, great for those nights when you are too tired to cook! The red and green colors are so festive, this would be an excellent holiday dish!
Cashew Sauce… YUMMY!!

The original recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs Fat Free Vegan Kitchen – I don’t think I’ve ever made anything off her site we didn’t like.

I usually triple the cashew cream sauce and double the rest of the recipe so I have extra sauce in the end. This goes well with quinoa and it’s so easy to make!

I buy my quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”) at Costco – they have a 4 pound bag of organic quinoa for about $8, best price I’ve seen! We eat a ton of it, it’s really good for you! Quinoa has about 22 grams of protein per 1 cup serving!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup RAW cashews – make sure you buy raw cashews, you can find them in the bulk section at Sprouts
  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 clove garlic – I use about 2-3 cloves (I like extra!)
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon or broth powder
  • 1 large onion
  • 1/2 red bell pepper – I’ve left this out and it’s good without it too, if you don’t like red pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 1/2 cups chickpeas (or one 15-ounce can, rinsed and drained)
  • 1 bunch kale, central stems removed and leaves thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • Salt to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Hot sauce, to taste – YOU MUST USE SRIRACHA!!! IT’S THE BEST!!!
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

Ready to cook!

Instructions

  1. Soak the cashews for an hour in hot water or overnight in room-temperature water. Drain. Place them in a blender and add 3/4 cup water, 1 clove garlic, and 1 teaspoon of broth powder (or 1 bouillon cube). Blend at highest speed until completely smooth. Set aside until needed. (I use my Vita Mix blender for this)
  1. In a large non-stick skillet, cook the onion until it begins to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and garlic, and cook for another minute. Add the chickpeas, kale, and two tablespoons water. Cover immediately and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until kale is tender, about 5 minutes.
  1. Add the reserved cashew sauce, oregano, and salt, black pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens. If sauce becomes too thick, add a little water to thin. Add the fresh basil just before serving over quinoa.

Preparation time: 1 hour(s) | Cooking time: 20 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

Oh and DON’T FORGET THE SRIRACHA!!!

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