Thursday, June 17, 2010

cashew tamari dressing

 have long been a fan of homemade salad dressings, and rarely purchase the commercial variety.  however, there are a few bottled versions that i love, and i recently added another one to the list when i visited austin this past spring and my fabulous aunt took me to wheatsville co-op.  aside from the great selection of groceries and a myriad of vegan options at the deli, they also have a seriously awesome cashew tamari dressing. faced with the idea of funding a trip to austin every couple weeks to pick up a bottle, i hauled some back to kansas city and used it sparingly for several weeks as i tried to make a clone.  the result was... pretty darn close.  and cheaper than flying to austin once a month.

  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 2¾ tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1¾ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1¼ tablespoon tamari
  • 1/4 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

combine all ingredients in a magic bullet or blender, and let soak for about an hour.  after soaking, puree the heck out of it until the cashews have been effectively pulverized. add a little water along the way if needed or if you like thinner dressings.  makes enough for 2 or 3 salads and will keep in the fridge (sealed) for a couple of days.

served here over a yummy kale salad, courtesy of my awesome csa, greeley gardens.

16 comments:

jessy said...

this sounds awesome and just perfect for all the summer salads we're making lately. thanks, miss v.! once we started making our own salad dressings we haven't gone back - it's been at least a year since we've bought any store stuff. can't wait to give your cashew tamari dressing a whirl. w00t!

Bianca said...

That sounds sooo good. Creamy dressings are my fave, and I do love to make 'em myself....though right now I'm eating a salad with Annie's Goddess Dressing (because it's the best!).

Jen Treehugger said...

This sounds goooood. Will try this for sure as I'm always looking out for new salad dressing ideas.
:)

The Voracious Vegan said...

I LOVE homemade salad dressings. I always have a big raw veg salad on hand, so I like to change things up with different dressings. This one looks fantastic, I like how creamy it is. Can't wait to give it a try, thanks!

Vic Robinson said...

That is some amazing salad! Cashews are quickly becoming a staple in my kitchen for this very reason! So versatile.

Mihl said...

This looks perfectly creamy!

JL Goes Vegan said...

Am eating this right now! (used Bragg's Amino instead of tamari) YUM, YUM, YUM!

kris said...

thank you so much for posting this! i just moved away from austin and have been going through wheatsville cashew tamari withdrawal. the recipe came out great - i would suggest adding 1/2 clove of garlic and maybe a little more oil to get the flavor and consistency of the original. i'm going to be making this by the bucketful. you made my year!

Julie said...

I just ran across this while looking for Mother's Cafe's Cashew Tamari dressing (I've moved from Dallas to New Jersey and can't get it up here). I know that their dressing was available at Wheatsville in addition to Whole Foods, so I'm HOPING this is the same one. It's the salad dressing that would actually make me eat salads! I can't wait to try it out!!

Anonymous said...

Also moved from Austin. Get a bottle or two of Mother's Cafe dressing (Wheatsville also sells it) when I'm in town, but it goes fast.

Will try yours - I think I will not blend the cashews, Mother's doesn't blend the cashews. Hope this works. Would really love to have this dressing year round.

jota said...

I am a lucky vegan resident of Austin. In fact I live walking distance to both Mother's Cafe and Wheatsville Co-op. Mother's dressing and Wheatsville's are different from each other though both incredibly habit forming. Mother's is an oil based dressing with chunks of cashews and Wheatsville's is creamy with a strong zest of garlic;both distinctly delicious. I know for a fact that if you email Wheatsville they will give you the exact recipe for the Garlic Cashew Tamari dressing.

Unknown said...

I am obsessed with the Mother's Cafe Cashew-Tamari dressing. Its so good. I know this one isn't the same one but sounds awesome and can't wait to try it out!

Does anyone have the Mother's Cafe dressing recipe, I just can't get that one out of my mind!

Ohso Veggie said...

Hey Stinky Gorilla.....did you ever get anywhere on the Mother's Cafe and Garden recipe for Cashew Tamari dressing? I'm with you....I cannot get that dressing out of my mind and I have a big plate of sunflower sprouts just screaming to be drenched with it!!!!

Jeff Q. said...

I am definitely making this. I am hooked on that same dressing. Fortunately, I live a mile from Wheatsville. But I'm still going to try to make it.

Maybe you can talk some sympathetic Texas vegan into sending you some. :)

Thanks! Cool site.

Anonymous said...

Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU! This is my absolute favorite dressing and was disappointed that it was so pricey. Now I can make it and enjoy it when I wish!

stinkygorilla said...

@Ohso.. sorry for the delayed response :) But yes, I did wind up getting the Mother's Cafe version that I think is close....

Here is what I got:

1/4 cup Canola Oil
1/4 cup Cashews (Unsalted)
1 Tbsp Balsmic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Tamari

I threw all the ingredients into a magic bullet type of thingy and blended till cashews were chopped up.

If you over blend, you will get a creamy cashew butter - which is also very good. I put it on some extra frim tofu and it was pretty good.