We still are wearing our open toed sandals and sundresses. I think we are going to jump to Winter, skipping Fall. There is not a lot of foliage here. The only sign of fall are the squash and pumpkins.
I miss the chill, we need some rain.
On the bright side, I found some beautiful tomatoes in Cali and it’s crazy 91 degrees.
We make a lot of spicy nuts, to top on salads and just for snacking. This time we added it to pesto and it was, well, let’s just say that I’ll never make a pesto without spiced nuts. You have to try this out.
You can make it chunky or smooth like I did. You can top it on anything, and it makes such a great dip.
Enjoy the cooler weather and warm fuzzy soups for me please.:). Have a wonderful week my friends.
Balsamic Cashew Pesto on Focaccia
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Ash
Recipe type: Brunch, Bread, Sauce, Pesto
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
For the Candied Cashews:
- ¼ cup cashews
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp cup water
For the Pesto:
- Candied cashews
- 1 cup Italian basil
- ½ cup spinach
- 2 tbsp cilantro
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- fresh pepper cracked
- salt to taste( be cautious because the nuts already have salt in them)
- ----------------------------------------------
For the Focaccia
- All Purpose Flour - 4 cups
- Yeast - 1 packet
- extra virgin olive oil - 3 tbsp
- sugar - 2 tbsp
- Warm water(110degrees) - 1 cup
- Tomatoes and basil to garnish
Instructions
For the Candied Cashews:
- In a non stick pan or a cast iron pan, add the butter and let it melt. Add the brown sugar, chilli powder, balsamic vinegar and the nuts. On medium to low heat, fry it well. When you see the color change, add water and let toast for another 2 minutes. Add some salt. Turn off the heat and transfer to a plate.
For the Pesto:
- In a blender or food processor, add the cashews and the garlic, let it whip up. Once it is to a consistency you like, ground up well, add the other ingredients for the pesto and grind with required salt. You can make it smooth or keep it little if you'd like.
For the focaccia:
- Add yeast in warm water and let it bubble up for 5 minutes. Make sure the temperature of the water should be warm, not too cold or not too hot.
- In a stand mixer or food processor, add the all purpose flour, sugar, salt and give it a whip until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Add the oil, and yeast mixture and let it whip. Once the dough has come together, let it mix on low speed for another 10 minutes. You can knead it by hand alternatively.
- Take it out on a floured surface and knead it a little by hand, coat it with olive oil, put in a bowl, wrap tight and let rise for 11/2 to 2 hours or until it's doubled in volume.
- Take it out and punch it down gently. You are ready to roll.
- Oil the pan you want to bake it in and roll the dough to fit the pan to ½ inch in thickness and let it rise for another 20 minutes covered loosely.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- After 20 minutes, top with the pesto and arrange the tomatoes and bake.
- Bake at 400 degress for 20 minutes in the lower part of your oven.
Wow what an amazing post Ash! We both love pizza and focaccia, so this recipe is bookmarked!
We really want to see how those candied cashews blend into this pesto, this is such a different, innovative idea!
Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
Panos and Mirella
xoxoxo
Pesto is a staple in our household and I have to say I’ve never tried it with spiced nuts. I can’t wait to try this out! Thanks for the inspiration Asha! xo
oh wow that does sound wonderful, why did I never think of adding spiced nuts to our pesto! Genius Ash, I am gonna try this for sure! yum!
It just started to get cooler here last week which has been nice but I will definitely be missing the fresh garden tomatoes! This pesto focaccia is absolutely beautiful, Ash! Love the candied cashews!
This recipe sounds amazing! Definitely pinning this! Just one question… Why is it called walnut pesto? I don’t recall any walnuts in the recipe… Either way, definitely gonna try this! Huge pesto fan!
So glad that you mentioned it. I guess wHen I typed out the recipe, there was a mistake. Hope you get to try it out.
The focaccia looks scrumptious with pesto and all those beautiful colourful tomatoes. Must try the candied cashews in my pesto next time.
I think we are going to skip right to winter, and I certainly hope we get more rain. I can honestly say I’m tired of the heat and want that chilly fall weather! I must try spiced nuts with my pesto — that sounds delicious! This focaccia with those beautiful tomatoes looks like one incredible meal. 🙂
I will enjoy the foliage and soups in your honor! And you savor the heat for me because it’s in the 20’s here tonight! Now, this pesto! You are so smart to use spiced nuts and I adore the use of cashews (you have ‘walnut’ in the recipe title, just fyi… :). And candied, with a bit of sweetness, sounds really intoxicating. Great layers of flavor going on. Needless to say, that is one special focaccia.
Asha – it’s freezing here (was 47 yesterday and today) and I am yearning for summer’s 90’s! If you miss cooler temps, you are always welcome here – we can eat soup and this gorgeous focaccio with those delicious candied cashews and smores to finish! 🙂
Lovely dish and that pesto – wow!
Asha this looks so divine! I love pesto but I am loving this twist. Your photos are gorgeous as always!! And well we are still waiting for fall hehe!
It’s getting chilly here (although 80 today), but still haven’t had a frost. So my basil plants are going great guns. Definitely need to make some pesto — and this looks so good! Thanks!
Ooh enjoy the warmth lovely!! Love that top down photo of the tomatoes on the dough. I could sink my teeth right into it now 😀
Sounds wonderful as usual. I love the idea of the nuts being both spicy and sweet and imagine this would be lovely with a pasta as well. I always enjoy your beautiful writing.
That flatbread looks so pretty with all the colors. Spicy cashews is a great way to add a desi touch to an Italian spread like pesto. Love the twist!
xx Yasmin
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