This week's ravioli was entirely improvised. And it turned out better than I had dared to hope.
Soak 1 cup raw cashews overnight.
Massage asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.
Drain cashews, then cover with fresh water. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (or probiotic), 1 large garlic clove, 2-3 tbsp tarragon, salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth.
Wash and peel beets, then slice thinly. Spoon cashew cream between slices.
Yields 3-4 servings.
First of all, if you have a good kitchen knife (I have the 9-inch Cutco "french chef") and decent dexterity, I recommend hand-slicing the beets. My mandoline slicer cuts unevenly and much too thick for my tastes, even on the lowest setting. But please, do not lose a finger on my account.
The raw garlic in the cashew cream really brightens the overall flavour of the dish, but not in a pungent "garlicky" way. I had actually forgotten the tarragon the first time around, and let me tell you, it balances beautifully with the garlic. Don't be afraid to mess with the lemon juice and nutritional yeast quantities either; it takes a lot to overpower the taste of cashews. Honestly, I wish I had put some fresh lemon, or at least lemon pepper, on the asparagus to tie everything together.
This dish actually passed a peer review - a dear friend who does not mince words and has been a vegan for fifteen years! I did not put this to the "carnivore test" as I had no standard-diet people to feed it to. But I'm pretty confident that if your favourite carnivore doesn't completely abhor vegetables, they might actually enjoy this one.
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