Graduation season is upon us, and if you're hosting a party to celebrate someone in your life moving from one stage to the next, here's a nutrient- and protein-rich recipe from "Superfood Snacks: 100 Delicious, Energizing & Nutrient-Dense Recipes" by Julie Morris (Sterling, $16.95).
Cashews, hemp seeds and nutritional yeast all lend both flavor and heft to this dip, a vegan-friendly substitute for a cheesy spinach artichoke dip. You could use other leafy greens instead of or in additional to the kale; it's the technique of blending the cashews to make a cream-like sauce without the cream that makes this dish stand out.
Hot Creamy Kale Dip
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 Tbsp. yellow miso paste
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Pinch cayenne pepper
6 cups packed curly kale leaves, finely chopped
Sea salt
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1/4 cup hemp seeds, plus additional for garnish
Place the cashews, miso paste and water in a blender and blend until the mixture is as smooth as possible.
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, or until onions are softened and translucent. Add the cumin, cayenne, kale and a big pinch of salt and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute or until kale is wilted to about half its original size and bright green.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour in the cashew mixture (don’t clean the blender — you’ll be adding ingredients back into it shortly). Cook the mixture for 3 to 4 minutes longer, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Remove from heat and spoon the kale back into the blender.
Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast and hemp seeds, and blend to partially puree while still leaving small textural bits of the vegetables intact. (You will likely need to stop the blender several times and manually stir the ingredients back down toward the blades before blending again.)
Taste the dip, add additional salt as needed, then serve warm with small toasts, crackers or raw vegetables. Also works in wraps. Makes 2 cups.
— From "Superfood Snacks: 100 Delicious, Energizing & Nutrient-Dense Recipes" by Julie Morris (Sterling, $16.95)
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