Cashews. Butternut Squash. Lemons. When you partner their flavors, they make the most delicious sauce. Ever.
makes about 4 servings or 1.5 cups of cheez-y sauce
INGREDIENTS 1 cup fresh butternut squash*, peeled and cut into small cubes OR 1 cup canned butternut squash Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) Himalayan or Celtic sea salt black pepper
1 tbsp coconut oil 3/4 cup unsweetened plain almond milk 1 tbsp arrowroot powder or organic cornstarch 6 tbsp nutritional yeast, or more to taste 2 tsp Dijon mustard 1/4-3/4 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1/2-1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste 1/2-1 tsp Himalayan or Celtic sea salt, or more to taste) pinch cayenne
Instructions Preheat oven to 425F. If it's summer and you want to keep the heat out of your kitchen, heat your barbecue grill. Line a roasting pan or casserole dish with parchment paper. Toss cut squash with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes, uncovered, or until tender. If you are using your grill, lay out a large piece of heavy weight foil and then place a large piece of parchment over it. Place the seasoned and oiled squash on the parchment and fold it up into a tight, grill-able package. Grill 10 minutes on medium heat, flip the package, and grill about 10 more minutes until soft.
While the squash is roasting, prepare the sauce base: In a medium saucepan, melt the coconut oil over low-medium heat. In a bowl, whisk together milk and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch) until clumps are gone. Whisk the mixture into the heated oil. Whisk in remaining ingredients (nutritional yeast, Dijon, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper) and continue to whisk over low heat until thickened. Remove from heat.
In a blender, blend the sauce with 1 cup of roasted squash (or 1 cup canned). Vent the lid slightly to allow some of the heat to escape while you are blending or you WILL have sauce on your ceiling!
Enjoy the sauce over pasta or fresh veggie noodles--zucchini, sweet potato or carrot--or on vegan nachos, steamed broccoli or cauliflower or as a sandwich spread. Store in the fridge in a tightly covered container or glass jar. Keeps about a week.
My favorite spice profile to add to the sauce while blending:
1 teaspoon garam masala 1 teaspoon cumin 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground turmeric (or a small knob of fresh) 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger root, chopped
Notes: *You can use any sweet and thick fleshed winter squash such as Delicata, Acorn or Blue Hubbard or even pumpkin. The flavor will vary depending on the squash but will still be delicious. Three pounds of squash yields about 5 cups cooked squash, depending on the squash.
I highly recommend using fresh squash and roasting it as the flavor is much more robust. Use canned in a pinch. Canned pumpkin could be used, also.
Double the sauce ingredients and have extra! The sauce freezes well.