I have a friend who is a self described Pinterest addict. She has told me that her evening routine after she puts her two boys to bed, involves scrolling through and pinning recipes, crafts and redecorating ideas on Pinterest. Because of this addiction, my friend has found a bunch of great recipes, a few of which she has passed along to me. 

One recipe in particular struck a chord with me because it’s deceptive in terms of its ingredients. She told me what was in the sauce, and she and I tried it out on my husband a few months ago. He couldn’t guess what the ‘secret’ ingredient was on his own. Did I mention that I love tricking people with food? It tastes legitimately like there’s some sort of dairy in it, but the secret ingredient is actually cashews.

This sauce is full of flavor, easy to make, and utilizes red peppers, which are still in season and can be found at farmers markets. It goes well on just about anything. I love it on pasta or even as a dip for pita bread or veggies. Versatile is a word I use when summing up this sauce.

I thank the internet for Pinterest, and friends who like to share their recipe wins with people like me.

My kitchen notes

I prefer to roast my own red peppers in the toaster oven. However, jarred red peppers work fine for this recipe.

Roasted Red Pepper ‘Cream’ Sauce 

1½ cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 30 minutes and drained

1 roasted red bell pepper, seeds and skin removed, or from a jar is fine.

¾ cup water

1 small clove of garlic

¼ cup minced red onion

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt to taste

Directions