This vegan recipe solves two problems in one. It makes an interesting vegan filling for sandwiches. New vegans often ask for ideas for sandwich fillings. This would be ideal.

You can also serve it on toast or crackers or have it as a dip with raw veggies.

Secondly, It gets you eating more brassicas (more on this in a minute).

It has very few ingredients. In fact you may already have them in your store cupboard. And it takes only minutes to make.

We went to a neighbours for dinner. They are not vegan but cooked us a lovely meal that they’d found in a free vegan cookery booklet from the Filippo Berio olive oil company. There were some interesting recipes in it, but this one really caught my eye. I’m glad it did, because it’s so tasty, nutritious and easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 150 gm (1 cup) cashew
• 50 gm (just under a cup) baby kale
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 75 ml (a quarter of a cup) of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of cold water

So, you start with 150 gms (1 cup) of cashew nuts. Soak them for at least an hour in warm water and then drain.

Pour boiling water over 50 gms (just under a cup) of baby kale and leave for two minutes. Then drain, squeezing out the water.
Baby kale is a member of the brassica family (cruciferous vegetables). Other members include broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Dr Michael Greger says:

“Kale is a best-of-all-worlds food, low in calories and packed to the hilt with nutrition—vitamins, minerals, anti-inflammatory compounds, antioxidant phytonutrients—you name it.”

Dr Greger includes a daily helping of cruciferous vegetables as part of his Daily Dozen.

“a good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.” via Kale, raw Nutrition Facts & Calories

If you don’t like kale, just suspend your judgement and give this wonderful recipe a chance. (Here’s what it looks like, spread thickly on a rice cracker, but I haven’t finished the recipe yet!)

Now chop the cashew nuts, kale and one to two garlic cloves in a food processor.

Add olive oil (around 75 ml or quarter of a cup), two tablespoons of lemon juice and up to 2 tablespoons of cold water, some salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Leave for a while for the flavours to blend.

Check out my article on the best vegan sandwich fillings.