Story by Josie Taylor. Follow Josie on instagram @thefreshginger

gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan
Makes: 6 puddings
Time: 3 + hours soaking, 1 hour chilling, 15 minutes loving labour
You’ll need a proper free-standing blender for this one, the more powerful, the better. Hand blenders don’t quite cut the mustard.
The morning or evening before you want to make this pud, pop 2/3 cup raw cashews in a bowl with 1 ½ cups of water and a pinch of sea salt. This softens the nuts, so they’ll be creamy when you blend them. It also dissolves some of the nutrient-absorbtion blocking phytic acid present inthe hulls of the nuts, as well as enzyme inhibitors that stop them sprouting prematurely (which can also inhibit the enzymes in your body from digesting them properly.)
Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Once fully soaked, drain, rinse and set aside
In your blender, combine the soaked cashews with everything in the pudding list above.
Blitz. Like crazy. For 2 minutes. Then taste. You can always add more honey if you prefer.
Put your chia seeds in the bottom of a large, dry bowl.
Pour the blender mixture into the seeds, whisking as you go to avoid the chia seeds sticking together. For the next 10 minutes, give the bowl another friendly whisk every few minutes, before covering and placing in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Meanwhile, toast the almonds and pistachios on a baking tray at 160 C for about 11 minutes.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool and chop roughly.
If using, slice your figs into small crescents.
Remove the pudding from the fridge and whisk one last time, before spooning about a tablespoon and a half of the mixture into 6 small receptacles. Re-refrigerate and decorate later. Or sprinkle with the nuts and fresh figs/ rose petals to consume immediately.
*A note on toppings: I’ve found tangy fruit toppings overwhelm this delicate little pudding, so I’d recommend sticking to just nuts and figs for this one.
Story by Josie Taylor. Follow Josie on instagram @thefreshginger
Jessica Burdon
Yummy!! Such beautiful pictures!!!!