Creamy Garlic and Mushroom Sauce

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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.

mushsauce

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

 

  1. 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:

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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

 

  1. 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

  1. 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.

 

  1. Add the cashew cream to the mushrooms and stir on low heat to make sure everything is well combined.

 

  1. 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: