Artichokes with Red Pepper Cashew Sauce

My daughter has embraced artichokes this season. I wonder if it the artichokes she likes best, or the little bowl of melted butter to dip the artichokes in that is her favorite. Tonight she ate three of them. I roughly trim the artichokes, then quickly steam them for 8 minutes in my pressure cooker. Yesterday, I made a sauce from raw cashews and red pepper that seemed a good pairing for artichokes. After cooking the artichokes, I removed the heart, and sauteed it with a bit of white wine, butter and fresh thyme. Topped with the cashew sauce, it was a wonderful appetizer.
This red pepper cashew sauce is very versatile. It would be great on roasted cauliflower, dipping sauce for bread, or sauce to top a meatloaf. It was even better the second day. Very easy to make, and highly recommended.

Red Pepper Cashew Sauce
(makes about 2 cups)

1 1/2 cups raw cashews
1 medium red pepper chopped into 2 inch pieces (seeds and stem removed)
1/8 cup great quality extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbls tamari
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp chopped shallot

In a blender add ingredients and blend. I had to jiggle my blender to get things going. Blend for 5 or so minutes until very smooth. Serve or store overnight to merry flavors.

Artichokes
(4 large artichokes)


1 heaping tbls butter
2 tsp fresh thyme plus a fresh spring
4 large artichokes
1/4 cup dry white wine


Trim artichokes by cutting top 2 inches off top as well as the stem. Pick the outer most leaves off and discard. Steam in a big pot with 2 inches of water covered for 25-35 minutes (or until tender) or in a pressure cooker for 8 minutes. If leaves pull out easily, then you know the artichoke is cooked.
Save the leaves if you would like to eat them, and cut out the artichoke heart. In a sautee pan over medium high heat, add one heaping tablespoon of butter, 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves and 1/4 cup dry white wine. Add artichoke hearts when sauce starts to bubble. Stir to cover the artichokes with the sauce and cook down until the wine evaporates and thickens (about 5 minutes on med. high heat). Plate artichokes, and use a spoon to equally divide the sauce over the artichoke hearts. Spoon about a tablespoon of the red pepper sauce and top with a small sprig of thyme!