Blueberry Peach Salad with Vegan Creamy Basil Salad Dressing

Susan | July 3, 2015

I love CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Thursday. Our boxes full of local organic produce come very early in the morning. It’s like getting a really cool present that is just waiting for you to wake up!

Last week our box arrived with all of the usual suspects along with the new stars, peaches and blueberries! I was immediately inspired to put together a salad that featured both! My basil is currently in a state of massive growth and peaches love basil so off with the snippers I went!

I used cashews to make the creamy base for the vegan raw salad dressing. I am really trying to get away from using oils. Oils are not a whole food and don’t have the nutritional value that nuts have. When you look at nutrients per calorie of oil vs nuts, it just doesn’t measure up.

And keep in mind when we are using nuts in recipes, it is darn easy to stay under the daily recommended allowance of 2 ounces of nuts. This recipe calls for 1/2 cup cashews. But it has 6 servings. So that works out to .4 oz of nuts per serving for the dressing. If you add the optional hazelnuts, which I highly suggest, it only ads another .8 oz. So in total, there is only 1.2 ounces in the entire salad. And you get the benefit of added protein, omega 3’s and fiber along with other nutrients. So, cut the oil and enjoy the nuts!

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Blueberry Peach Salad with Vegan Creamy Basil Salad Dressing

serves 4

Creamy Basil Salad Dressing

1/2 cups cashews, soaked until soft, drained and rinsed
1 lemon, juice from
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup basil leaves (packed)
1 tablespoon diced shallot
Himalayan salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Place cashews, lemon juice, and water in high-speed blender. Blend until smooth.
Add basil and pulse until basil is finely chopped and incorporated. Do not over-blend.
Add shallot and salt and pepper. Pulse once or twice to mix in.

Salad

6-8 big handfuls of mixed greens
3 peaches, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup blueberries
1 cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)*

Toss all ingredients together in large bowl.
Pour dressing over top and mix to combine.

*You can use toasted hazelnuts if you wish. They are not raw but are super tasty. Toast the nuts at 275 for 20 minutes. Roll in a towel to remove skins.

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