Raw Vegan Strawberries Romanoff - A Strawberry Dessert With Home Made Non-Dairy Topping

A Delicious Raw Dairy-Free Dessert

I was at the store today (bad idea as it was PACKED with people shopping for the holidays) but what made it worth while was these beautiful strawberries. With ripe oranges on my tree, all I needed was some raw cashews and a touch of Grand Marnier (OK, not totally raw but hey, it's a holiday) and we were in for a treat.

I was introduced to Strawberries Romanoff by a neighbor of mine many years ago in New York City. I loved the way the strawberries and oranges complimented each other and how the intensity of the strawberries soaked in orange juice and orange liqueur was mellowed by the whip cream. But even though I no longer eat whip cream, I can still enjoy this dessert by making a non-dairy topping by blending up raw cashews with fresh orange juice and something sweet. This creamy, non-dairy dessert topping is heavenly but you must have a really good blender to pull it off. Give it a try!

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Raw Vegan Strawberries Romanoff

[serves 4]

For the Strawberries

4 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur (optional)

1 tablespoon Sucanot or organic cane sugar

For the Cashew Cream

1 cup raw cashews, soaked 4 to 6 hours

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

1 Medjool date, pitted and soaked for 30 minutes

Put the sliced strawberries in a small bowl with the orange liqueur and sugar. Gently toss until well combined and the strawberries get syrupy. Set aside.

To make the cashew cream, rinse the soaked cashews and place in a VitaMix or other high speed blender. Add the orange juice and the soaked date. Blend until smooth and creamy. You will have to stop the blender many times to scrape down the sides. If it seems too dry, you can add a bit more orange juice or water but be patient, it will eventually look like whipped cream.

Serve the strawberries in a small glass bowl or stemmed glass, top with cashew cream and serve.

Per serving: 254.6 calories, 12.0 g fat, 2.0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 6.2 g protein, 32.5 g carbohydrates and 4.5 g of fiber.