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Healthy Chicago Cooking Classes

garlic

Garlic Scape Pesto (V, Gf, Df)

Garlic scapes are one of the coolest farm/garden scores ever. These delightfully mild garlic ‘flower stems’ pop up from the underground garlic bulb. The bulb actually grows better, meaning it can concentrate its growing power to the underground bulb, once the ‘flower stem’ or ‘scape’ is removed.

The garlic scape has a little bit of a fibrous texture so it’s recommended to either saute them slightly or mince them finely, like in this pesto. Garlic scapes are only here for a short time so grab them while you can!
Happy Eating,
~Monique

Garlic Scape Pesto
5 garlic scapes (about 1/2 cup chopped)
a big handful fresh parsley
2 tbls lemon juice
5 tbls olive oil
3 tbls toasted pepitas
1/2 tsp salt
few grinds of fresh black pepper

Toss everything in a mini food processor or blender, process until desired texture is reached. Taste, adjust seasoning as desired.

Note: I like a thick pesto, add a touch more oil if you prefer yours a little thinner.

Cashew Bechamel Sauce

A creamy, delectable, ‘cheesy’ bechamel sauce made from cashews and nutritional yeast. It’s sunning and you’ll never miss the dairy! This cashew cheese sauce is great on EVERYTHING (like my Chorizo Stuffed Squash). Trust me!

~Monique

Cashew Bechamel Sauce

1 cup soaked cashews

2 tbls olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

3-4 garlic cloves

1 celery stick

1 tbls dijon mustard

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3  cup nutritional yeast

2-4 cups broth or water

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Heat 1 tbls of oil over medium heat, add the onions and saute 5 minutes. Add in the celery and saute another 5 minutes, the onions should be becoming browned. Add the garlic in and saute for another minute or two. Remove from heat.

Place the  onion mixture in the blender with the soaked cashews, remaining olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and 2 cups of broth or water. Blend on high until creamy and warm. Add additional liquid as needed to reach desired consistency. Taste and adjust as needed.

NOTE: Be careful of heating cashew sauces in a pan, they become very thick and burn quickly. I like to use them straight from the blender. But if you need to re-heat the sauce, do it on low temperature and stir constantly. Stop before boiling. 

Garlic Cashew ‘Cheese’ Dip

Prep Time: 

Cook Time: 

Ingredients
Garlic Cashew Cheese Dip

2 garlic cloves
2 tbls lemon juice
2 tbls nutritional yeast
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water~ more as needed
scant tsp salt
1 heaping cup cashews, soaked 2 hours

Directions
Soak cashew in water for up to 4 hours. Strain and rinse well.
Place all ingredients, except for cashews in a blender and blend until smooth.
Add the cashew and blend again until smooth. Add more water as needed to get the mixture to blend smooth.

Can use immediately but I find it best after chilling a few hours to a day.
*Add more water to turn this into a dressing, or less water if you want it to be a much thicker dip.