Vegan Nacho Dip

A friend gave me The Oh She Glows Cookbook, and as I flipped through the pages for the first time, this was the recipe that jumped out.  The dip was great!  I made a few changes, and had some friends present as taste-testers, who all agreed the result was yummy.  Truth be told, it's hard to mess up anything that's served as a dip with tortilla chips, right?!

1 cup raw cashews, (soaked in water for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight, and drained)

1 cup peeled and chopped carrots

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 large clove garlic

11/4 teaspoons sea salt

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 can original Rotel, drained  

2-3 handfuls baby spinach, finely chopped

a few handfuls of crushed tortilla chips, plus whole tortilla chips for serving

1-2 green onions, thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a 2-quart cast iron pan or casserole dish.

2. Make the cheese sauce: Place the carrots in a small saucepan and add water to cover.  Bring the water to a boil and cook the carrots for 5 minutes, or until just fork-tender.  Drain, reserving carrot water to add later.  (Alternatively, you can steam the carrots.)

3. In a blender, combine the cashews, cooked carrots, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, salt, chili powder, onion powder, cayenne, and 2/3 cup water (use carrot water if you saved it!) and blend until silky smooth, adding an extra splash of water if needed. Pour the sauce into a large bowl.

4. Make the dip: Stir drained Rotel and spinach into the cheese sauce until fully combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish and smooth it out, and sprinkle the top evenly with the crushed corn chips.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, uncovered, watching closely toward the end of the cooking time to make sure the corn chip topping doesn't burn. Garnish with green onion. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.