½teaspoonof each of the following: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika
1teaspoonsalt
¼cupnutritional yeast
1jalapeno pepperor to taste, pickled or fresh, depends how spicy you want this
2-4dasheshot saucelike Tabassco, to taste, use your favourite brand (optional)
Instructions
Place cashews in a small bowl and cover with cool fresh water and soak at least 6 hours or over-night. I usually do this first thing in the morning or the night before if I think of it.
Drain the cashews, discard soaking liquid, and place the cashews, spices, nutritional yeast and 1 cup water in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. In my high speed blender this can take a few minutes. Don't rush. Stop and scrap the sides of the blender down if needed.
Dump contents of the blender into a small sauce pan and warm on low heat. Stir in jalapeno's. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. This step is critical for flavor and texture. The sauce will thicken and the flavours will meld. Continue to simmer until desired thickeness is reached. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary (I find I don't need it) and a few dashes of tabacco sauce or other hot sauce if you want to kick up the spice level. Serve with chips and veggies to dip.
Quick Soak Method
Place cashews in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let soak for 30 minutes. Proceed with steps 2 and 3 of the recipe above.
Notes
Do I have to soak the cashews? - for best results, cashews will make the creamiest queso if you give them a good soak first.I find it easiest to just throw some in a bowl and cover them with water and let them hang out for a while. Overnight or all day. And when I'm ready to make the sauce, the sauce comes together in less than 10 minutes.➡︎Quick soak method - but if you forget to soak, run out of time, or just plain fail to plan ahead - you can quick soak. Cover the cashews with boiling hot water and let sit 30 minutes.Simmer the sauce! The key to this sauce is the brief but necessary simmer in a little sauce pan. You must do this.