Smoky Cashew Dip

It's been longer than I'd like to admit since I last posted a recipe here. I haven't stopped cooking. It's simply that I hadn't made much until December that I had to write about, and we all know how busy December can be. To motivate myself to write more, I came up with a new food goal for 2017. This year, I'm going to use up all the extraneous ingredients in my pantry. We all have them - those random ingredients that we buy for a single recipe, only to put the rest back into the cabinet, to be pushed back behind all the cans of tomatoes or boxes of pasta or canisters of cocoa powder (if you're me). I've inventoried my pantry and refrigerator, and on my fridge is a list of all the ingredients that I have that I should use up. It's more than a once-a-week cooking task. I doubt I'll write about all of them, but I hope I'll find some great things to share. That said, I decided to make this recipe long before I decided on 2017's food goal. I found this smoky cashew dip when I happened to read an email from Bon Appetit, which I usually don't read. It's my new favorite thing - by which I mean I've made it three times in the last week. I don't eat dip, but I make an exception for this one, as it's simply cashews, chiles in adobo sauce, water, and salt to taste. Chiles in adobo sauce are something that recipes only use a tablespoon or two of, meaning I store the remainder in my fridge to hope that I can use before I feel obliged to throw it away. I've never used up an entire can, until now. (For those curious, I've brushed the adobo sauce on grilled pork before.) The chiles add a little spiciness and smokiness to the ground cashews. I generally can give or take cashews, but this dip makes it worth buying them. Other things I like about this dip: it takes less than 5 minutes to make. It's high in protein and fat (to make up for all the crackers you might eat it with). It's also gluten-free and vegan. Alex and I usually eat it all with red bell pepper strips. You know, to be healthy. If you want to make something to serve it with, try Golden Pita Bread.

📖 Recipe