Lemony Saffron Cashew "Cream" Sauce

I have been intrigued by the cashew "cream" sauce recipes that I have been reading since going plant-based and decided to finally try my hand at it today. My version, made with lots of lemon, saffron and garlic, was very easy and turned out to be quite delicious!  I actually got super ambitious today and made whole wheat gnocchi from scratch to go with said sauce. And while the gnocchi turned out pretty good, it was quite the undertaking and not worth posting about given the numerous great recipes out there (I adapted a version I found on the One Green Planet website). The sauce really was the star today and would go great with any pasta. It would also be great over rice, baked potatoes, steamed vegetables, you name it! I added a lot of crushed red pepper because (in my non-professional opinion) the heat, along with the garlic, really brings out saffron's savory qualities. The cashews made the end product luscious and filling, so a little went a long way.   

Ingredients (yields 2.5 cups / 4 - 6 servings):

Soaked raw cashews (1 cup), yellow onion (1 Lg, minced), fresh garlic (8 cloves, minced), saffron threads (4-5 pinches), lemon zest (1 lemon), lemon juice (1 lemon), vegetable broth (2 cups divided, 1 cup and 1 cup), nutritional yeast (2 Tb), olive oil (1 Tb), salt (1 ts, plus more to taste), crushed red pepper (to taste).

Equipment: Skillet, high speed blender. 

Preparation (2 hours inactive, 20 minutes active):

• Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside to soak for at least 2 hours.
• Heat the olive oil over low heat in a wide skillet. (You want the onions and garlic to cook through, not brown).  
• Mince the onion and garlic cloves, add them to the skillet and cook for about one minute.
• Add the saffron* and use a wooden spoon to mix the saffron thoroughly with the onions and garlic. The aromatics should turn bright yellow.  
• Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt.
• Add 1 cup of vegetable broth and allow the onions and garlic to fully cook in the broth.
• Add crushed red pepper. (I used about 1/2 teaspoon.)
• Once the broth has almost evaporated completely, transfer the cooked mixture to your blender.
• Drain the cashews and discard the soaking water. Add the drained cashews to the blender.
• Add the nutritional yeast and 1/2 cup of the remaining vegetable broth.
• Blend everything on high until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy.
• Taste and adjust the salt and crushed red pepper to taste.
• Add the remaining 1/2 cup of broth (or more) if the sauce is too thick.
• Blend once more to finish.
• Ready to serve!**

Notes:

*The amount of saffron you need will depend on the quality and potency of your saffron. Start with less and add more as you go, as saffron, although delicate, can become overwhelming if too much is used.

**If you are using this as pasta sauce, return the sauce to your skillet and add *almost* cooked pasta along with some of the starchy pasta water to reheat the sauce and to finish cooking your pasta in the cream sauce.  

I added oven roasted cherry tomatoes to my gnocchi to add some juicy acidic bites to offset the decadence of the dish.  I garnished with chives.