Natural cashews which in Europe are very difficult to find in stores, have different nutritional characteristics than the roasted product. The taste is also different, slightly sweeter and not only because they are not salty.
Nutritional characteristics of cashews
Natural cashews compared to the roasted product preserve the contents of thermolabile vitamins. Here a clarification must be made, unlike home cooking, industrial roasting processes have reached a technology that partially preserves these vitamins that otherwise would be totally lost. However, if we take the B vitamins of which cashews are richer, B1, B5 and B6 we discover that the natural product contains even double the value in the case of B1 and B6. Speaking of figures in natural cashews we find 0.423 of B1, 0.86 mg of B5 and 0.417 mg of B6 which represent respectively 37%, 17% and 32% of the daily requirement. In the case of mineral salts the differences are much smaller and in 100 grams of natural cashews we find 6.68 mg of iron, 660 mg of potassium, 593 mg of phosphorus and 292 mg of magnesium.
Botanical notes
The western anacardium is a tree of the anacardiaceae family, in nature it can reach a height of 14 meters but it is a decidedly more impressive plant for the extension of the crown than for the height. However, in agricultural crops, dwarf varieties, up to six meters high, ripening earlier and yielding more have proved to be more profitable. The fruit (which botanically speaking is a false fruit or accessory fruit as it does not derive from the transformation of the ovary) has a shape that can vaguely resemble a heart or at least reminded the person who gave the plant its name. The edible seed is attached under the fruit.
Cashews in the kitchen
Natural cashews are a very popular ingredient especially in vegan cuisine, able to add delicacies to both savory and sweet dishes. We chose a simple vegan version of a real treat.
Vegan chocolate salami
Ingredients
200 gr of dark chocolate
120 gr of vegan wholemeal biscuits
100 gr of natural cashews
60 ml almond or rice milk
50 gr of sunflower oil
2 tablespoons of rum
½ teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 pinch of cinnamon
Preparation
1) Cut the chocolate into small pieces, pour it into a fairly large bowl and melt it in a bain-marie by placing the bowl on a saucepan of boiling water.
2) Let the chocolate cool and move on to the other ingredients.
3) Toast the cashews in a hot pan until golden brown, then cut them coarsely with a knife.
4) Crumble the biscuits with your hands, trying to get small pieces about ½ cm, the important thing is that the crumbs are not too small not to get lost in the dough, nor too large otherwise the salami will tend to flake.
5) Combine the oil, milk, rum, vanilla essence and cinnamon with the warmed melted chocolate and mix to mix everything well.
6) Then add the biscuits and cashews and mix a little more to incorporate them.
Preparation of the chocolate salami
7) Let the mixture cool so that it is more solid and therefore easier to handle.
8) Prepare a sheet of baking paper and an aluminum foil.
9) Arrange the dough in the center of the baking paper sheet and give it the shape of a salami with a diameter of about 7-8 cm (you can help with the edges some paper).
10) Roll up the chocolate salami by squeezing the baking paper on the sides like a candy.
11) Also wrap it in aluminum foil.
12) Place the chocolate salami in the freezer for a few hours.
13) Before serving, let it rest for 10-15 minutes at room temperature so that it melts a little.
Recipe source: Vegolosi.it