Raw Vegan Caprese Salad

Day 29 of Our “One Month Raw Food Cleanse”
My husband and I love Caprese salad. It’s usually made, of course, with fresh Italian mozzarella cheese. There is no need to give up this wonderful dish while on a raw food diet. Simply replace the mozzarella with this simple cashew cheese and you have a very beautiful and tasty dish. The raw version has no cholesterol and one third the saturated fat. For the best results, use vine ripened heirloom tomatoes, the freshest basil, and a good quality extra virgin olive oil.

***

Raw Vegan Caprese Salad [serves 4]
4 medium vine ripened heirloom tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil and 4 sprigs for garnish
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Himalayan or sea salt to taste
1 cup of raw cashews soaked in filtered water for 6 hours
3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Himalayan or sea salt
1/4 cup (or a little more) filtered water

To make the cheese, soak 1 cup of raw cashews in filtered water for 6 hours. Rinse the cashews well and place in a Vita Mix blender with lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 cup of water. Blend until absolutely smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender and adding a tiny bit more water only if needed. Place the cashew cheese in a small bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Slice the top and bottom off of each tomato and cut the remaining center into 3 thick slices. Build the Caprese salad on four small salad plates starting with 1 slice of tomato, a heaping tablespoon of cheese spread in a circle over the tomato slice, another tomato slice, another layer of cheese and a third tomato slice and a final layer of cheese. Sprinkle a tablespoon of chopped basil over each salad and garnish each with a basil sprig. Top each salad with freshly ground black pepper, salt and 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 199 calories, 17 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 0 cholesterol, 5.3 g protein, 9.3 g carbohydrates and 1.3 g fiber.

Menu for day 29
Breakfast is a blueberry smoothie. Lunch is a Caprese salad with sprouted lentil crackers (see May 18, 2009 posting for the crackers). Snack is half a cantaloupe filled with sliced strawberries. We’re going out to dinner so I’ll probably have a big salad (I’ll bring some raw nuts and raisins to throw on top of it).