A jar of cashews in your fridge is a mighty fine thing to have. When it comes time to top a salad, round-out a stir fry, or even just manage an afternoon craving, these creamy, crescent-shaped tree nuts are there to help. Do you love cashews?
Although technically a seed and not a nut, cashews are certainly nutty enough to stand their ground among the almonds, walnuts, and pistachios of the world. They can be eaten raw, roasted with spices, or ground into a butter for spreading on toast. Cashews are also equally at home in savory dishes as they are in sweet baked goods.
Cashews have a rich, and frankly addictive, buttery flavor and an equally creamy texture. Roasting brings out more of their nuttiness and enhances their crunch-factor. They are a natural companion to almost any Chinese stir-fry or Asian rice bowl, but cashews are chameleons for almost any dish into which you want to throw them.
Buy cashews that are as fresh as you can find them. They should smell enticingly nutty, feel a little oily on their surface, and crunch when you bite into them. Their high oil content causes the nuts to quickly go rancid at room temperature, so store them in the fridge or freezer. Cashews are a tropical crop, so it's not likely that you'll find local producers unless you live in those areas. If you can't find them in bulk bins at the grocery store, there are many reliable online vendors. One of my favorites is Nuts.com:
• Cashews from Nuts.com
And once you've procured yourself a nice stash of cashews, here are some of our favorite recipes for using them.
• Brown Rice Bowl with Tofu, Lemongrass, and Cashews
• How to Stir Fry Chicken
• Rice and Mixed Greens Salad with Dates, Cashews, and Chickpeas
• Saffron Rice with Peas and Cashews
• Fresh Figs and Cashew Cream
• Cashew Meringues and Black Cherry Jam
• Cashew-Cardamom Chia Pudding
What are your favorite ways to use cashews?
Related: Entertaining Tip: Little Bowls of Nuts
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(Image: Emma Christensen)
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Cashews are a staple for me. I make my own cashew butter and use cashews in salads, stir fries, veggie wraps, and homemade snack mix. They're also great to munch on straight up!
I use cashews all the time. My son eats them for snacks, which makes me happy. I use them in curries - here's <a hrefr="http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2012/03/21/red-lentil-cashew-curry/">one with red lentils and cashews</a>, and here's one with tomato and cashews and homemade paneer</a?. I made one last night with red leaf lettuce, cashews and tomatoes. Smooth and tasty.
They're nice in salads, like this napa cabbage salad with cashews, golden raisins and capers.
And I like them in fritters and croquettes.
Here they are with roasted chickpeas in chickpea patties, and here they are in carrot-cashew fritters.
And I love them with cooked greens, too. The other night I sauteed some beet greens and then tossed them with roasted cashews and coconut. And here's broccoli rabe with cashews, ginger and apricots.
I could go on! I'm vegetarian, so I cook with nuts almost every day!!
I can't have them in the house - I can't stop eating them! When I do have them it's to make dishes for parties: a thai-inspired noodle salad with cashews and cashew nut butter (instead of peanut), I make cashew cream for vegan dishes, and chocolate bars.
some indian curries use ground toasted cashews to thicken a curry, it adds a really nice rich background flavor - one of my favorite curries is a really mild (but so flavorful) potato and chicken curry with a sauce thickened with ground roasted cashews. Its a great one to make when you arent sure if your guests can take heat, but you want that complex amazing curry flavor
http://www.food.com/recipe/murghi-aur-aloo-chicken-and-potato-curry-210345
It's a staple in my house, and my go-to afternoon snack when I want something salty/crunchy. Cashew rosemary brittle was a happy accidental recipe one christmas and our favorite homemade candy ever since. I've never had cashews go rancid and I don't refrigerate them, but then they don't stay in my pantry longer than half a month. And after all this cashew talk, I want some.
Since they tend to be expensive, try using cashew pieces instead of wholes (I find them to often be 2/3 of the price or less)