Fruit Soup with Fresh Fruit Salad and Silky Smooth Cashew Sauce
By Fran Costigan. Vegan, Low Fat, Gluten-free, Cholesterol-free. This softly gelled fruit soup, topped with a healthy serving of fresh fruit and drizzled with a rich-tasting sauce, is elegant, easy, light and delicious. Agar, also known as kantan, is a natural mineral rich seaweed gelling agent that’s a healthy alternative to bovine gelatin. Agar has no taste or calories and is easily found in natural food stores.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp agar flakes
- 4 cup mango, apricot or apple juice, organic is best
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- ½ tsp pure vanilla, extract
- 3 cup fresh fruit, or berries for the Fruit Salad
- Silky Smooth Cashew Sauce, (recipe follows)
- ½ cup cashews, raw, unsalted
- 3 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp agave syrup
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
- Measure the agar into a medium saucepan. Pour in the juice but do not stir or heat. Set aside for 15 minutes or longer to allow the agar to soften. This helps the agar dissolve easily and thoroughly.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Uncover, reduce the heat to low and stir to release any bits of agar that may be stuck on the bottom of the saucepan.
- Add the salt, cover and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring a few times. Check the juice and the bottom of the saucepan for specks of agar. If necessary, stir and simmer longer, until the agar has completely dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours, or until softly set. Stir before serving.
- Process the nuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade until they are very finely ground. Add the water and process 1 minute. Clean the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the agave, vanilla and salt. Process another minute or until perfectly smooth. The sauce is ready to use but can be refrigerated in a covered container up to 4 days.