I shared this a few posts ago on my Instagram as a "What I Eat in a Day" post but did not have the actual recipe on my site. Clearly, I had to change that! So here is how I make my walnut mushroom "meat" raw salad and the cashew dressing.
So many people, including me, are experimenting and incorporating more raw eats into their diets and I've realized that because I value "quick" and "easy" recipes, raw really is right up my alley.
It is also so good for us and allows us to get the fiber and nutrients we need when we load up on all the raw uncooked eats/sips like juices, smoothies and salads.
Recipe tips:
This recipe calls for your cashews to be soaked for at least 4 hours to ensure your dressing is super smooth (you can soak overnight or the morning you want to make the salad). Be sure to use raw cashews vs salted. When you rinse/clean your mushrooms, be sure to dry them off completely. You can also clean them with a damp paper towel.
Tips to note: This recipe makes enough for about 4-5 servings of salad and about 1 cup of dressing. I notice that the dressing tends to get thicker by the next day, so I would suggest not to make too much of it/more than you need. You can also cut this recipe in half and have plenty for 2-3 salads.
Walnut meat:
1 cup of walnuts
1 cup of whole button/baby bella mushrooms (about 6)
Handful of sun dried tomatoes (I use the oil-free ones in a pouch)
Seasonings blend of:
1 tbsp of garlic powder (you can also opt to use fresh garlic, I would use about 4-5 cloves of garlic)
1 tbsp of onion
1 tsp of red pepper
1/2 tbsp of chili powder
1 tsp of coriander (not a deal breaker if you don't have this)
1 tsp of cumin
Cashew Cream Dressing:
3/4 cup of rinsed, soaked raw cashews
3/4 cup of cold water or plant milk
2 tbsp of nutritional yeast
2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice (or lime)
*Leaves from about 1/6 bunch of cilantro
1/2 tbsp of garlic powder or 3 garlic cloves
2 tsp of Himalayan salt
**This dressing can easily be made without cilantro as well.
Directions for Walnut Meat:
Add walnut meat ingredients to your food processor and pulse until mixture is blended but still course. Do not over-process/blend, otherwise it will be more of a pate type of texture.
Directions for Cashew Cream Dressing
Add all dressing ingredients to your food processor/high speed blender and blend until mixture is smooth. You may need to scrape some remnants from the sides down and continue to blend.
Dressing and walnut meat are good in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Assembling your salad:
- Choose your greens (I use romaine lettuce)
- Choose your veggies (I use red bell peppers, but you can use green or yellow peppers)
- Grape tomatoes (I add about 6 or 7)
- Avocado (I add about 1/4 or the avocado, but use as much you like)
- Add your meat and dressing
- Optional topping: Hemp hearts for added crunch and protein
Enjoy! Did you make this? Do tell! Comment on this post and/or share with me on social - all of my social links are at the top right of this post.