Seafood Artichoke Dip

Artichoke dip is easily one of my favorite treats. The traditional artichoke dip is loaded with sour cream, cheese and mayonnaise. It's delicious, but so horribly bad for you! Then, when I found out dairy was out of the question, that pretty much eliminated this dip as an option.

I'm learning all the amazing things you can do with cashews. I've made cheesecake, dessert bars, and creamy sauces, all of which have turned out great. I figured if you could do all this with cashews, why couldn't you make a dip from them?

This was going to be a huge case of trial and error. I was trying to re-create the flavors of a traditional artichoke dip, which I knew would be tough due to the cheese and sour cream being such a big factor. I was so pleased with the results! My son, who I've mentioned is a culinary student, was also highly impressed.

This recipe has a lot of healthy stuff in it, but you still don't want to overdo it. The coconut milk and cashews are quite calorie dense, so if you eat too much of it, you're not doing yourself any favors. As with everything, take it in moderation. You can serve it with chips, but it's even better with cut up vegetables - bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, etc.

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained, finely chopped and brine reserved
2-4 T. full-fat coconut milk
2 T. lemon juice 
3 squirts Bragg's Liquid Aminos
5 dashes liquid smoke 
Sea salt & ground black pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder 
1 T. nutritional yeast
1/4 to 1/2 cup imitation crab, finely chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8x8 glass baking dish with cooking spray. 

Process cashews in a blender on low speed until they reach a fine powder. Stop to scrape sides and corners of blender as needed. Add coconut milk, lemon juice, Liquid aminos, liquid smoke, salt, pepper, onion powder and nutritional yeast. Process on high speed until very smooth, stopping frequently to scrape the sides. Add additional coconut milk and brine if necessary. You want it thick, but not pasty.

Pour sauce into a bowl. Stir in artichokes and imitation crab. Check seasonings and adjust if necessary. Pour into baking dish and spread it out uniformly.

Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until just heated through, stirring once or twice while baking. The cashews in the sauce will cause it to thicken as it gets warmer, so don't let it go too long. If it does get too thick, just add a little more coconut milk.

Serve immediately with chips, pita slices or vegetables.