Easy Healthy Vegetarian Stir-Fry with Cashew Cream Sauce

For the cream:
Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cashews on the baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Once the cashews are cooled, place in a medium bowl and cover with water. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours.

Once the cashews have sat for 8 hours, drain water and add soaked cashews into a small food processor. Add coconut milk and a pinch of salt and blend until you have a smooth, creamy sauce, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. Depending on the strength of your food processor, this make take a few minutes. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the stir-fry:
Prepare noodles according to package instructions—my package tells me to place the noodles in a large bowl, cover them with boiling water and let them stand 5–10 minutes. Set aside.

In a large pan, heat coconut oil over medium heat until melted. Add carrots and toss to coat in the oil. Cover and cook, stirring frequently so that carrots don’t burn, until they begin to become tender, about 5–7 minutes.

Add garlic, ginger, snap peas and cabbage and cook 2–3 minutes, until veggies become tender. Add honey and a pinch of salt and cook until honey has thickened, about 1–2 minutes.

Drain noodles and add into the pot along with pineapple tidbits. Add sauce (you may not need all of it, so add a little at a time) and stir until well combined. Season to taste with a little salt.

Divide between plates and garnish with additional cashews, cilantro and optional sriracha and devour.

Notes:
1. The sauce can be prepared a day or two ahead if desired. Additionally, you can get away with not using all the sauce in the recipe, but I like mine saucy. Just add it to taste!
2. I prefer to toast the nuts used for garnishing, but it’s up to you. If you want to toast them, do as you did to make the cashew sauce.