Top Secret Cashew Gravy

Preparation:

1. Toast the cashews, either on the stovetop in a pan or in the oven. Don’t let them burn, but do toast them a bit.
2. In a sauté/frying pan, sauté the garlic and ginger in a tablespoon or two of the olive oil. The olive oil gets “eyeballed” in this recipe–you want enough at all times to keep the ingredients you’re sauteing wet, but not so much that they’re swimming.
3. When these have sauteed for a moment, add the cayenne, paprika, pepper, and the flour. Let this continue cooking, and add more olive oil if needed–you want the flour to bubble and cook, creating a sort of roux.
4. Blend about a cup of the stock with the cashews in a vitamix good quality blender. Make sure they’re as finely and smoothly blended as possible.
5. Add the flour/oil/spice/garlic/ginger “paste” to the blender.
6. Add the remaining stock– reserve it just so that you can use it to “wash” any remaining spices from the sauté pan into the blender.
7. Blend all of this until it is completely smooth and uniform and lovely.
8. Pour the gravy into a saucepan and bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer. Stir it almost constantly, and scrape the bottom often.
9. When the gravy has thickened to your liking, you’re almost done! If it gets too thick, add a little water to thin it. If it won’t thicken, you can add a bit of arrowroot powder to thicken it. Or, dissolve a bit more flour in a bit of cold water and add this paste to the pot. (Don’t add the flour directly to the hot gravy or you will have sad, chunky, floury gravy.)
10. Taste it! Add as much tamari/soy sauce as you think it needs as far as saltiness. Add more pepper or other spices if need be.
11. Add in sauteed mushrooms and frozen petite peas if desired.
12. Enjoy!

 

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