Feisty Queso

I’m not messing around here - this feisty cheez sauce is bomb!! Serve hot as a dip with tortilla chips or drizzle over enchiladas, slather in a burrito, or dollop on a taco. Yessss cheeeez!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup diced potato (about 1 medium potato)

• 1/2 cup diced onion (1/2 medium onion)

• 1/4 cup diced carrots (1 medium carrot)

• 1/2 cup raw cashews

• 1 clove of garlic

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1/4 tsp paprika

• 1/4 tsp turmeric

• 1/4-1/2 tsp chipotle powder, to taste

• 1 - 1½ tsp salt

• 2 tbsp picked jalapeños, minced with juice

• pinch of black pepper

• 1/2 cup Unsweetened plant-based milk, or cooking water

Directions:

Boil the potato, onion, carrots, cashews and garlic in enough water to cover for about 15 minutes, or until all the veggies are fork tender. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid if you don’t have a neutral tasting plant milk to use.

In a high-powered blender, combine the cooked veggies with all the other ingredients, except the jalapeños. Start with 1 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of chipotle powder. Blend 1 minute until completely smooth. Stir in the jalapeños and brine. Taste. If it needs more heat, add the extra chipotle powder. If it’s lacking some of the cheezy bite, it probably needs more salt. You could try another tsp of pickled jalapeño brine or a bit more salt, just 1/4 tsp at a time. If you plan to serve this with tortilla chips, do your taste tests with a salty chip to avoid over-salting it.

Serve hot and enjoy! This recipe can be portioned into serving size containers (I use 8 ounce mason jars) and frozen. Thaw completely before heating. You’ll need to whisk in a tablespoon of water or plant milk to get it smooth again.

Makes about 2½ - 3 cups of queso. Perfect for sharing. Or not ;-)