Mushroom sauce made using cashew cream with garlic, onion and fresh basil
A good cashew cream is a staple in vegan cooking and is pretty much the foundation for any type of white sauce as a replacement for dairy. This mushroom sauce is stunning with roasted potatoes which is why I put it in this Sunday Roast recipe set but you can modify it any way you want – you can add different herbs and spices, bulk it up with spinach or other vegetables. You can add it to pasta for an Alfredo-style sauce or put it on toast. The possibilities are endless once you perfect the smoothest, creamiest cashew cream – just have fun experimenting.
I’ve also used Nutritional Yeast in this recipe and you’ll see it quite a bit in my cooking. It’s a B12 supplement and a great replacement for cheese in sauces. When you first open the packet, it smells really weird and looks a bit like fish food – but don’t be put off. When you add the flakes to liquid, it dissolves down making the sauce thicker and creamier and gives a subtle cheesy flavour.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Equipment: High speed blender
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
AMOUNT |
INGREDIENT(S) |
~250g |
Mushrooms (any type) |
1 small |
Red onion |
1 handful |
Fresh basil |
1-2 tbsp |
Olive oil |
1 tbsp |
Garlic purée |
¼ tsp |
Dried basil |
½ tsp |
Dried oregano |
¼ tsp |
Dried thyme |
¼ tsp |
Paprika |
½-¾ tsp |
Black pepper (coarse or fine) |
½-¾ tsp |
Salt (coarse or fine) |
Cashew cream
AMOUNT |
INGREDIENT(S) |
~150g |
Cashews (plain) |
2-3 tbsp |
Nutritional yeast |
1-2 tbsp |
Lemon juice |
1 tsp |
Apple cider vinegar |
½ tsp |
White ground pepper |
¼-½ tsp |
Salt |
~300 mls |
Water |
Recipe
- In a saucepan for boiling, add 150g of cashews and fill with water so that the cashews are just covered. On a medium-low heat, gently simmer for 15-20 minutes.
In the meantime:
- Clean and thinly slice the mushrooms and red onion. You can use any type of mushrooms for this – I used a mixture of closed cup and porcini.
- In a saucepan for frying on high heat, add enough olive oil to thinly cover the bottom of the pan and add in the following (amounts listed above):
- Sliced onions
- Salt – ¼ tsp fine or ½ tsp coarse
- Dried oregano
- Dried thyme
- Dried basil
Stir to distribute the herbs evenly, cover with a lid and allow to cook on a low heat until the onions become soft
- Add to the pan:
- Garlic purée
- Paprika
- Sliced mushrooms
- Black pepper
Stir to make sure the mushrooms are well-coated with the herbs and spices. Cover with the lid and leave on a medium-low heat until the mushrooms are cooked-through. Turn off the heat.
Cashew cream
- Once the cashews have boiled, add them to a high speed blender with the following:
- Nutritional yeast
- Lemon juice
- Apple cider vinegar
- White ground pepper
- Salt (¼ tsp fine or ½ tsp coarse)
- 300 mls of water – or enough to get the consistency you want
Blitz until you get a smooth cream.
- Add the cashew cream to the mushrooms and stir on low heat to make sure everything is well combined.
- Mix in the fresh basil – roughly chopped and then turn off the heat and serve.
This mushroom sauce goes with anything! Try it with these:
- Roast “Beef” Seitan
- Roasted Potatoes, Parsnips and Red Onion
- Buttery Brussels Sprouts
- Giant Yorkshire Puddings
- Maple-glazed Carrots