I Can't Believe It's Not Queso

i can’t believe its not queso

Cauliflower is the unsung hero of the vegetable world. It’s yummy on its own, but it can also make non-dairy sauces and soups creamy and is a healthier stand-in for the less glucose-index-friendly potato, and even (gasp!) replaces meat, on occasion.

In our 1/4 vegan household (one out of four of us is vegan), we use cauliflower a lot to stand in for cream. We also lean on cashews to create a luxurious creaminess when we don’t want to use dairy. But since we’re only ONE quarter vegan, any recipe we veganize needs to pass muster with the meat-eating dairy-lovers in our family. This recipe fits the bill, having been dubbed, “I can’t believe it’s not queso” by my carnivorous, cheese-adoring teenage son. He likes this queso a lot. Which is a minor miracle that I attribute to using BOTH cauliflower and cashews for the combined one-two-punch of non-dairy creaminess.

If you’re getting ready to entertain a crowd for game day and find yourself wondering how to side-step an exclusively meat and cheese laden menu, may I offer up this creamy, delicious & oh-so-dippable, you-won’t-believe-it’s-not-cheese, queso.

All of these ingredients can be found at Berkshire Co-op Market. (woot-woot!)

I use my Instant Pot to make this recipe, but you could use a traditional pressure cooker, or even a sauce pan, if you’re willing to commit to a longer simmer time.

Core and cut a small head of cauliflower into florets (about 2 cups).

Cut enough carrots into thick coins to measure about 3/4 cup. Whether or not you peel your carrots is entirely your call. When I’m using organic, I prefer to preserve the nutrients in the skin of the carrot, but some folks think the skins are bitter.

Toss the veggies along with 1/4 c of raw cashews and 1 cup of water into a pressure cooker. (Or, into a sauce pan, if you prefer.)

Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes and then flip the valve to do a quick release of the pressure. If you’re cooking your veggies in a saucepan, cook them until they’re very tender. (You may need to add more water, so keep an eye on them!)

Once cooked, let your veggies cool while you get your other ingredients ready to go.

Originally, this recipe called for Ro-tel which is a Texas-style mix of diced tomatoes and chopped green chiles. Call me a snob, but I prefer to mix non-gmo, organic tomatoes with non-gmo chopped green chiles to create my own approximation of that other brand

Drain the liquid from the chiles and tomatoes into a blender, then mix your chiles and tomatoes in a bowl and set them aside.

In the blender, add 1/4 c nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp salt , 1/4 tsp chili powder and 1/8 tsp mustard powder. Drain your cooled veggies (reserve that liquid in case you need to loosen your queso), and add them to the blender.

Blend everything until it’s smooth and creamy. If you find your mixture is a bit thick, add the reserved veggie water little by little until you’ve achieved an optimally dippable consistency.

Next, the add ins…

What you add to finish your queso is up to you! When I’m making this for my son, I just add the tomato/chile mixture spoon by spoon until I’m happy with the chunkiness of the queso. When I don’t have a green-food-adverse teenager to consider, I add about 1/4 cup of cilantro and a few tablespoons of chopped red onion. Some people like to throw in some chopped green peppers. They’re not my fave, so I skip those.

When we’re having this on taco night, I just spoon it into a ramekin and serve it with a platter of tortilla chips. If you’re putting this out for grazing, definitely put it in a little crockpot or fondue pot to keep it warm.

I hope this pleases your crowd as much as it pleases mine! If you try it, let me know how it goes…hit me up at social@berkshire.coop and send me some pix of YOUR queso!