Mixed Vegetable Fritters

I hardly ever cook deep-fried food but that's not because I don't like it. I'm just reluctant to use too much oil, scared of the hot temperatures and fires and everything. But seeing a recipe for fresh vegetable fritters in an otherwise healthy cookbook must have inspired me, and it's true that if you get the oil temperature hot enough the fritters don't absorb lots of oil. I cooked these in my wok and drained them on what I guess is a draining attachment and they were light and crisp and a great treat.

Ingredients

Selection of seasonal vegetables. (The cookbook also proposes another recipe, herb fritters, using parsley, basil, mint and sage instead of veggies, so feel free to try that too alongside veggies or on their own with a class of something cool as an apero).

The recipe uses 1 fennel bulb, 2 fresh artichokes, 2 small courgettes, a handful of cauliflower florets, as well as 

12 large pitted green olives and 

115g / 4 oz drained fresh mozzarella, cut into 2.5cm / 1 in dice. 

(I had no artichokes or mozzarella this time but did have eggplant so used that as well as the other veggies).

Olive oil (or if not, canola oil) for frying

salt, to taste

Lemon wedges or a sauce of your choice (homemade aioli could be a nice treat) 

Leafy herbs to garnish (optional)

Beer Batter

2 eggs, separated

2 Tbsp olive oil

175ml / 6 fl oz beer

115 g / 4 oz flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

First, start batter preparation: Beat egg yolks, then slowly add the oil, beer, and flour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside for one hour (I only set aside for a short time and it still worked fine. I had used quite a yeasty Belgian beer, not sure if that helped). Right before using, whisk egg whites and fold into batter.

While batter (minus eggwhite) is resting, prepare veggies:

Cut fennel into thin wedges. Cut artichokes into 8 wedges. Cut courgettes in half crosswise then lengthwise again into quarters.

Lightly cook separately in salted boiling water (or steam in rice cooker like I did) the fennel, artichokes, and cauliflower. Cook until just al dente. Drain well on clean dish towels. - Eggplants, which I used also, absorb a lot of water and frying is best when ingredients are drier.

Pour the oil into a large frying pan or wok to a depth of at least 1cm ½ inch (or fill pan ⅓ full if you have enough oil - afterwards the cooled oil can be filtered and stored in a jar for reusing later for more deep frying adventures). Heat oil until hot but not smoking.

Meanwhile, dip a few of the veggies, mozzarella cubes and olives into the batter, letting the excess drain off. Transfer to the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides (turn with long handled tongs or use a strainer). Remove fritters with a slotted spoon or strainer, letting the excess oil drain back into the pan. Transfer to paper towel to drain. I kept mine warm as I continued cooking by placing them on a paper towel lined tray in the oven. I was a bit shocked how much oil was absorbed by paper towels even after initial draining! Just as well deep-fried food is just a 'sometimes' treat for me.

Continue frying the fritters in batches, transferring to paper towels to drain.

Arrange fritters on a clean plate and garnish with lemon wedges and, if desired, fresh leafy herbs.

Moroccan Cooked Carrot Salad

Serves 4 (photo shows only a small amount of what it makes)

This is my attempt* to recreate a nice salad I bought from a Moroccan vendor at the market. He is lovely and makes lots of nice salads but they are sold in plastic containers. I had people over the other day so bought a swag of his salads and have kept the plastic containers to store leftovers in. Photo shows leftovers of the salad I made based on his. It's nice and lemony/vinegary. When I have time, I'll ask if he offers cooking lessons, but for the meantime, here's this one I thought I could do, made with delicious organic carrots from another farmers' market vendor.
*using a mix of a couple of recipes online with a couple of my own variations

INGREDIENTS
8-12 carrots, peeled/well scrubbed and thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves
3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin (or, better: 1 tsp. cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground)
1⁄4 tsp. paprika
3 pinches cayenne
2 pinches ground cinnamon
2 to 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (to taste)
1-2 Tbsp. cider vinegar (to taste)
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (I used coriander instead and it was nice too)

FOR THE GARNISH (optional)
black olives
2 hard boiled eggs, cut in wedges


PREPARATION
Place the carrots and whole garlic cloves in a steamer above 1 inch of boiling water, cover and steam 5 to 8 minutes, until tender. Remove from the heat, rinse with cold water, and drain on paper towels. I actually used my 'multicooker' with a tiny amount of water and didn't need to drain them.
Mix through with the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust salt and lemon juice and vinegar as desired. Transfer to a platter, and decorate with olives and hard-boiled eggs if desired. Serve at room temperature.

Tip
Advance preparation: You can make this several hours before serving. The dish, without the lemon juice/vinegar and parsley, will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator. Reheat gently on top of the stove and add the lemon juice and parsley.

Ye Olde Porridge Cake

November and still pretty warm here (like 20 + degrees!) but some cool foggy mornings beg a nice bowl of porridge. Our toddler won't touch it though so I had leftover porridge today and as I was in a cake-making mood anyhow, wondered 'is there such a thing as a porridge cake?'. Of course there was. So here's the first search result that came up. I reduced the amount of sugar a bit as I just couldn't bring myself to add that much, and our eggs were small so I used an extra one and the texture was still fine - a crunchy caramelised top and a moist crumb inside. - My cake had an odd shape as I used scrunched baking paper (in a hurry) instead of greasing the tin.
I decided just to make the plain cake to start with to get a feel for it and would like to try some variations in the future with coconut etc - perhaps even a healthier version. This one was very nice though, and the toddler was delighted! 

Leftover Porridge Cake

 by  jrdnjlly on BBC GoodFood

Ingredients
1/2 cup Butter
2 cups Sugar
2 whole Eggs
2 cups Cooked Porridge
1 1/4 cup Flour
2 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2-3 tsp Cinnamon
Optional Additions: Shredded Coconut, Chopped Nuts, Diced Apple.

Method
Preheat oven to 180C/fan
Cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and porridge. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon (and any other extras e.g. nuts). Add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Pour into greased and floured 6cm x 26cm cake tin. Bake for 35 minutes or until it tests done.

Extra: Top with either cream cheese icing, or a caramel glaze with chopped nuts and coconut, if desired.

Ratatouille

This recipe is from Saveurs authentiques du maraîcher in the "Paul Bocuse présente.." series.' It claims that ratatouille, far from being a ragout of vegetables cooked together, is better when each type of vegetable is first cooked separately which is 'the secret' to preserving its taste. This also tends to preserve the colours which makes it look more appealing. We made lots and froze some to enjoy some summer flavours when we get bored of winter vegetables.

I've made other versions of ratatouille that use basil instead of the thyme and marjoram used here. One had the basil cooked in olive oil and gently stirred through when the dish was cooked, to keep it 'fresh' tasting.

Serves 4

Ingredients

750g courgettes / zucchinis

1 kilo aubergines /eggplant

1 kilo tomatoes

750 g capsicums / peppers

4 onions

3 cloves of garlic

2 bay leaves

5 sprigs of thyme

1 Tbsp marjoram 

10 cl olive oil

salt and pepper 

Method

1. blanch tomatoes, peel and deseed. Crush tomato pulp and set aside.
2. peel and finely chop onions
3. wash and trim other vegetables and cube (approx. 1cm pieces)
4. Separately cook in olive oil the onions, courgettes, aubergines and capsicums until tender (10-20 minutes depending on the vegetable). I used my multicooker as well as frying pan for this to have a couple on the go at a time.
5. when they vegetables are cooked, add together in a large oven-proof dish with the crushed tomatoes, crushed garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Mix.
6. cook 30 minutes in a moderate oven.
7. Serve hot or cold. Serve with fried eggs, pasta, bulgar wheat or pasta.

This dish is excellent (perhaps even better) the next day, reheated. 

Beetroot Hummus Soup

2-3 large cooked beetroot (boiled till soft then chopped in chunks)
200g (approx) cooked and well-rinsed chickpeas (I used a jar, canned could work too)
1 t ground cumin
1 t paprika
2 T seasame seeds
dash of olive oil
2 c vegetable stock
200g creme fraiche / sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon, to finish

In a blender or food processor, put everything except lemon, salt and pepper. Blend till smooth. Pour into a saucepan and bring to boil on stove. Turn down to a simmer and add in lemon juice, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with fresh bread and if you like, topped with dukkah chickpeas:
200g cooked and well-rinsed and pat-dried chickpeas
good pinch sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
cumin seeds
coriander seeds
seasame seeds

Dry fry chickpeas, stirring for a couple of minutes, then add oil, salt, pepper and seeds. Fry a further couple of minutes until browning but not burning. Sprinkle these on the top (if you want them to STAY on the top for presentation, sprinkle them gently just near the surface of the soup, not from high above or they will likely sink).

This soup idea was just a quick made-up recipe so can likely be easily improved upon by you!

M'chicha Wa'nazi ( Spinach in Peanut Coconut Sauce )

Here's a delicious, simple way to serve spinach. It doesn't look so flash, especially with my typical lack of presentation, but it's very tasty and a great vegetarian comfort food for a rainy day like we've been having so many of. This is dish from Tanzania I found in one of my favourite cookbooks 'World Vegetarian Classics' by Celia Brooks Brown. Firstly, I love that everything I've made from this book has been great, but it also has the benefit of featuring authentic vegetarian dishes, not just adapted meat dishes, so they really stand up on their own. It also doesn't assume you can get hold of every exotic ingredient so provides lots of more easily accessible alternatives.

700g / 1 1½ lb fresh spinach, trimmed and thoroughly washed (or the equivalent in frozen spinach)

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp / 30g / 1oz  butter

1 large onion, chopped

1-2 fresh red chillies, deseeded if large, finely chopped

½ cup / 70 g / 2 ¾oz roasted peanuts

1 cup / 250g / 8 fl oz coconut cream

Place the spinach and salt in a large saucepan with a lid. Cover and place over medium heat. Use tongs to turn the spinach from time to time, until it is fully collapsed and wilted (or thawed, if using frozen). Drain thoroughly in a colander, then use a potato masher to push out as much moisture as possible. Cool slightly, then chop coarsely.

Return the pan to a low-medium heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the onion and chillies and cook until the onion is soft and translucent.

Puree the peanuts with the coconut cream in a blender until fairly smooth. Pour into the saucepan, add a good pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir the spinach through the sauce until piping hot, then serve. Alternatively, reheat the spinach and serve with sauce poured over. This should be eaten with some sort of African mash (see below).

My Mash with what I had on had used potatoes, sweet potatoes and red kidney beans (for extra protein) but the book pairs it with any of three mashes from Africa: 

Irio, a dish from the Kikuyu tribe in Kenya. Irio is essentially mashed potatoes with kidney beans, corn and greens mashed in. 

Matoke banana mash from Uganda: In a saucepan place 4 unripe bananas/plantains (or 10-12 matoke bananas if you can find them), peeled and broken into pieces; 1 large tomato, finely chopped; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; ⅔ cup / 150 ml / 5 fl oz water; and ½ teaspoon of salt. Simmer, uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the bananas are very soft. Remove from the heat, add 1 Tbsp / 15 g /½oz butter and mash until smooth.

Or Ugali cornmeal mash which is a staple throughout Africa south of the Sahara:

Use a ratio of 1:1½ white cornmeal to water. Combine in a saucepan with salt, bring to the boil and cook, stirring regularly, for 20-30 minutes until creamy but stiff; add butter and serve with stew.

Easy Bean Burgers

 makes 4 - 6 patties but easy to multiply recipe for more.

The recipe says it suits almost any medium to large bean but I've even used brown lentils and it worked fine. I've previously used chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans.... Just have a go with what's in your cupboard! Recipe from 'Veggie Burgers Every Which Way' by Lukas Volger.

1 1/2 cups cooked beans * 

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley** 

1/4 cup grated parmesan*** 

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Squeeze fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup toasted breadcrumbs, plus more if needed**** 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

*I usually just use a 400g tin of already cooked beans

**this time I used frozen coriander as didn't have enough fresh parsley

***this time I used some grated aged Comte and some generic 'frommage rape'

****Usually I have plenty of stale baguette crumbs (made in blender) but this time I used a mixture of breadcrumbs and rice-cake crumbs whizzed in blender.

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C
2. in a mixing bowl, mash the beans using a potato masher or fork (not needed for lentils). Fold in eggs, parsley, parmesan, mustard, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Fold in the breadcrumbs, adding more if mixture is too loose. Let sit for 5-10 minutes for the crumbs to soak up some moisture. Adjust seasonings. Shape into 4 patties.
3. In an oven-safe skillet or non-stick saute pan, heat the oil over a med-high heat. When hot, add the patties and cook until browned on each side, 6-10 minutes total. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until the burgers are firm and cooked through. (May not need this long)

Mushroom and Herb Polenta (vegan)

Recipe slightly adapted (veganised) from 'Plenty' by Yotam Ottolenghi

"When cooking polenta my father always makes much more than he needs. Half of it he serves straight away in the runny state with a flavoursome sauce. The rest he spreads on an oiled surface and allows it to set. Then next day, he cuts out chunks, fries them in olive oil, and serves with a chunky vegetable salad (tomato, cucumber, cos lettuce) dressed lightly with red wine vinegar and olive oil. The dish here uses soft polenta but you may wish to double the quantity to follow my father's idea."

Serves 2

4 Tbsp of olive oil
350g mixed mushrooms, large ones halved
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp chopped tarragon
1 Tbsp chopped thyme
1 Tbsp truffle oil (if you have it)
500ml vegetable stock
80g polenta (instant or traditional)
80 g vegan parmesan*
30 g vegan butter or olive oil
1 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary
1 Tbsp chopped chervil
100g decent vegan melting cheese (if available, or skip), cut into 1cm slices
salt and black pepper

Method
Heat up half the olive oil in a large frying pan. Once hot, add half the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes, or until just cooked; try not to move them much to allow them can develop golden brown patches on their surface. Remove from the pan, and repeat with the rest of the mushrooms and oil.

Off the heat, return all the mushrooms to the pan and add the garlic, tarragon, thyme, truffle oil and some salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Bring the stock to the boil in a saucepan. Slowly stir in the polenta, then reduce heat to the minimum and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The polenta is ready when it leaves the sides of the pan but is still runny. If you are using instant polenta, this shouldn't take more than five minutes. With traditional polenta it could take up to 50 minutes (if it seems to dry out add some more stock or water but just enough to keep it at a thick porridge consistency).

Preheat the grill to high. When the polenta is ready, stir in the vegan parmesan, butter/oil, rosemary and half the chervil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the polenta over a heatproof dish and top with the vegan cheese, if using. Place under till cheese bubbles / things look golden, not burnt. Remove. Top with the mushrooms and their juices and return to the grill for a minute to warm up. Serve hot, garnished with the remaining chervil.

Spinach and Lentils with Pomegranate Sauce ( ghalieh esfanaj )

"This simple dish from the Caspian coastline of Northern Iran is tangy and delicious. Serve it with a rice pilau and yoghurt." - Arto der Haroutunian. 'Vegetarian Dishes from Across the Middle East'

l cup of dried whole lentils, washed

700g (1 1/2 lb) fresh spinach or 450g (1 lb) frozen leaf spinach

2 Tablespoons of olive oil or vegan butter

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon of salt

3 Tablespoons of pomegranate juice

Bring a large saucepan half-filled with lightly salted water to the boil, add the lentils and simmer until tender, about 30-40 minutes. Drain the lentils and set aside.

If using fresh spinach, wash it thoroughly; if using frozen, let it thaw. Squeeze excess moisture out of the spinach and chop it coarsely.

heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion, stirring frequently until it is golden brown. Add the chopped spinach, stir well and cover the pan. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the lentils, salt and pomegranate juice, then cover the pan and simmer for a further 20 minutes.

Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Hot Cross Buns

Homemade Hot Cross Buns are just the best. Even so, I used to buy them at the supermarket or bakery as I was usually busy around Easter time and buying them meant I could eat more of them! Cut in half and toasted then spread with a little butter - a delicious breakfast or afternoon tea.

Here in France they are not Easter fare though. Easter fare also excludes cream-eggs, marshmellow eggs, caramel eggs and just a whole season of chocolate indulgence - the French, at least people I know, seem better at just celebrating with Easter food on Easter weekend and even then, it's more the roast lamb they look forward to than sweet treats (except the kids who do get an Easter Egg hunt). As a vegetarian, I was much more looking forward to the sweet offerings and started looking for my beloved-once-a-year hot cross buns which were nowhere to be found. So, unable to accept cultural difference in this instance, turned to a Kiwi chef whose home cooking, enjoyed by adults and children alike,  my generation thrived on. Thank you Alison Holst for letting me share a Kiwi (originally English?) favourite with my French friends.

I took them to a pot-luck afternoon tea with international and French friends and we ate them still hot from the oven with salted French butter. Superb. The ones I made were not huge - I was running out of time to let them rise again once made into buns - but the texture was still great, not heavy little rocks like my previous attempts (before I found Alison Holst's recipe). Makes 30

Ingredients

2 tablespoons active dry yeast, e.g. Surebake active yeast mixture
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk, cold
1 cup boiling water
50 g butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup mixed fruit (I prefer just raisins usually but for these used dried mulberries too)
1 tablespoon mixed spice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 -4 cups flour

Crosses

1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons oil
water, to taste

Glaze

2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup sugar

Directions

1. Measure the yeast mixture, flour, brown sugar and salt into a large bowl. Stir to mix and then add the cold milk followed by the boiling water. Stir thoroughly to mix.
2. Leave to stand for 3 minutes. Melt the butter and assemble the rest of the ingredients.
3. Once the 3 minutes is up, stir in the rest of the ingredients except for the flour. 
4. Now add as much flour as need to make a dough just firm enough to turn out on a board and knead. [The original recipe suggests 3 cups. I needed 4.]. 
5. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until smooth and satiny and it springs back when you press it with a finger.
6. Oil a large bowl and turn the dough ball in this until it is all coated. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and leave to stand until it doubles its original bulk.
7. Turn out on a floured board, knead lightly and cut into 30 evenly sized pieces.
8. Form each piece into a ball and arrange the buns in rows in a dish or pan with at least 1 cm between them. A roasting dish works well and takes about 15 buns.
9. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F and when ready turn the heat down to 200°C/400°F.
10. Put crosses on the buns.Make a paste of the flour and oil and then add enough water to make a dough that can be forced out of an icing bag. Pipe the crosses on the buns.
11. Put the buns in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until they brown slightly and feel firm. Remove from oven and glaze with a hot syrup made by heating sugar and water.
12. Cool buns on a rack. Store in airtight containers when cold.

If you want to make a smaller quantity, halve the ingredients except for the egg. You may need more flour.

Pasta with Turnips and Turnip Tops

Turnips, turnips, turnips!
Trying to eat local organic produce throughout the winter has been a challenge. It's been a lot of root vegetables - potatoes, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, celeriac/jerusalem artichokes, black radishes, and a few I didn't know. Apart from potatoes, not my favourite vegetable selection but I've tried to make the most of it, making root vegetable korma, aligot (French cheesy-garlicky potato puree), roast vegetable salads, soups, and using them as a base of chillies and curries.
Growing up in NZ I never really ate turnips though - we mainly ate potatoes, carrots, kumara/sweet potato and beetroot and I tried to avoid parsnips and yams. My main association with turnips were the children's books 'The Great Big Enormous Turnip' and 'The Hobyahs'.

The Hobyahs storybook video

Not being so keen on building a house out of turnips and quickly running out of ideas for using turnips in meals,  I searched my recipe books for ideas. In 'The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces' by Diane Seed, I found a recipe from Puglia that used the turnip tops: Orecchiette con Cime di Rape (Orecchiette with Turnip Tops). Vegetables at the market are often sold in bunches with their tops still attached so we can appreciate their freshness and it seems a waste not to use the leaves if there's something yummy we can make with them.  So I've made this nice recipe a few times but also added the turnip roots to use the whole bunch at once. Thanks to some restaurants here in France, I've learned turnips are very nice caramelised, which can be done either by slicing thinly and cooking, stirring, in a pan till they naturally caramelise, or, if using larger chunks like here, adding a bit of olive oil or butter and a little sugar or honey to help things along (sometimes water or vegetable stock is also used).

So here's my combination of the two ideas:

Pasta with Caramelised Turnips and Turnip Tops.

Serves 4 as a main or six as an entree.

Ingredients

500g / 1 lb orecchiette or other short pasta
1 bunch of small fresh turnips with green tops attached
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp liquid honey or 1-2 tsp sugar (optional)
salt

4 Tbsp / olive oil (second measure)
5 cloves of garlic
1 or 2 small chilli peppers or 2 tsp / 10ml dried chilli flakes

Method

Cut the tops off the turnips and set the greens aside. Brush the turnips clean in water. Cut into bite-sized chunks. In a frying pan, saute the turnip roots, turning often (8-10 minutes) or steam above the boiling water till becoming tender. Then, in frying pan, add sugar or honey and oil to turnips and cook, stirring now and then, till caramelised - they will be nicely browned in places. Set aside till ready to use.

Now wash the turnip tops and cut into long thin strips. Heat a large pot of salted water (this will be used for cooking first the greens and later, pasta). When water is boiling, plunge in the greens and blanch, making sure not to overcook - they should remain vivid green. Remove greens with a slotted spoon (or you can cook greens in a colander to make removal easier). Keep the water and boil the pasta in it. You may need to add some more water if there was not enough. Cook pasta till al dente.

In another frying pan (or remove turnips to a bowl and clean first pan) heat the second measure of olive oil. Add chopped garlic and chilli pepper, stirring until garlic is golden brown but not burnt.

When pasta is nearly ready, add the greens back into the pan and cook together another couple of minutes. Drain carefully, shaking colander to remove any water trapped in the pasta. Pour the pasta and turnip greens into a large warmed serving dish. Add the caramelised turnips, mix gently then pour over the garlic/chilli oil and stir well. Serve at once.

Pardon my blurry photo and lack of orecchiette pasta

Mushroom Stroganoff

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff with Cashew Cream

Ingredients

500g sliced mushrooms
1 large brown onion sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic minced
800mls veggie stock
2tsps Dijon mustard
60mls lemon juice
20mls ACV (apple cider vinegar)
2tsps smoked paprika
1tsp thyme
1tsp oregano
40mls olive oil
Pepper to taste
250g dried short pasta like penne or spirals

Cashew Cream

100g raw cashews soaked
100mls water
3tbs nooch

Method
1. Heat oil in a pan to medium high heat then add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft. Add mushrooms and cook for about 3 mins, stirring regularly.
2. Add veggie stock, mustard, lemon juice, ACV, paprika, thyme, oregano and pepper. Bring to the boil.
3. Add pasta and cover, cooking until aldente then allow to cool a little with the lid off. After about 5 mins, add the *cashew cream and serve.

Cashew Cream
*Add all ingredients to a container and I use a stick blender to blend until smooth.