Skip to main content

Tangy Beet-Cashew Dressing with Chile

5.0

(2)

Bright purple dressings being poured out of a blender into a clear jar.
Photo by Anson Smart

In Amy Chaplin's salads, the vegetables are in the dressing. This is just one version of the raw beet dressings from her book Whole Food Cooking Every Day, where she combines sweet beets with cashew butter and red chiles to create a rich, creamy sauce.

Ingredients

Beet dressing (base recipe):

1 small-medium cooked and cooled red beet
1/4 cup filtered water
3 Tbsp. raw cashew butter, coconut butter, or tahini
2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. raw apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 (1/4-inch) slice of a large garlic clove
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt, plus more to taste

Tangy beet-cashew dressing with chile:

1 recipe Beet Dressing, using raw cashew butter
1 small red chile, seeded and chopped

Preparation

  1. Base dressing:

    Step 1

    Put the beet, water, nut or coconut butter or tahini, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and salt in an upright blender and blend until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula and blend again. Adjust the seasoning to taste and blend again. Use immediately, or store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 3 days. Shake well before using. The dressing will thicken once chilled; thin it out with a little water if needed.

  2. Tangy beet-cashew dressing with chile:

    Step 2

    Make the dressing following the instructions for the base recipe, adding the chile to the blender along with the other ingredients.

Image may contain: Advertisement, Poster, Brochure, Paper, and Flyer
Excerpted from Whole Food Cooking Every Day: Transform the Way You Eat with 250 Vegetarian Recipes Free of Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar © 2019 by Amy Chaplin. Photography © 2019 by Anson Smart. Reproduced by permission of Artisan Books. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon.
Read More
Fufu is a dish that has been passed down through many generations and is seen as a symbol of Ghanaian identity and heritage. Making fufu traditionally is a very laborious task; this recipe mimics some of that hard work but with a few home-cook hacks that make for a far easier time.
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
There are many things that appeal about a Basque cheesecake—it's crustless (one less job) and is meant to look “rustic” with its wrinkled and jagged sides.
Oyster mushrooms are a strong all-rounder in the kitchen, seeming to straddle both plant and meat worlds in what they look and taste like when cooked. Here they’re coated in a marinade my mother used to use when cooking Chinese food at home—honey, soy, garlic and ginger—and roasted until golden, crisp, and juicy.
Every sauce needs a few secrets. Ours is smoky, sweet, and savory—use it for burgers, fries, tenders, and more.
Berbere is a spicy chile blend that has floral and sweet notes from coriander and cardamom, and when it’s paired with a honey glaze, it sets these wings apart from anything else you’ve ever had.
Among the top tier of sauces is Indonesian satay sauce, because it is the embodiment of joy and life. In fact, this sauce is also trustworthy and highly respectful of whatever it comes into contact with—perhaps it is, in fact, the perfect friend?
The kimchi brine is the secret hero here; just a splash of it brightens the cocktail while deepening it with a little funky je ne sais quoi.