Blanched spinach is pureed with basil in this gourmet spinach side dish recipe. Made with rich cashew cream and nutritional yeast, this spinach and basil puree is similar to creamed spinach, but because it's vegan, it's much lower in fat and cholesterol-free.
Here, this side spinach dish is paired with roasted potatoes and sun-dried tomato encrusted vegetarian "chicken". Recipe and photo courtesy of Gardein
Ingredients:
- water for simmering
- ice water for chilling
- 1 pound fresh spinach leaves
- 6 tablespoons fresh basil leaves
- 6 tablespoons cashew cream or soy milk
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Preparation:
In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Add spinach, and blanch just until tender, about 30 seconds. Drain well, and immediately submerge spinach in ice water to prevent it from cooking further.
When spinach is completely cool, drain, and gently squeeze out extra moisture.
Place spinach, basil, cashew cream and nutritional yeast in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, then chill before serving, if desired.
