Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tostadas with Avocado "Cream" Sauce

One of my favorite things about the dairy-free experiment is that I finally get to try some interesting recipes/techniques I never bothered with before. Case in point - cashew sour cream. Why would I bother making my own nut-based sour cream when I could just pick up a container of Daisy? I'd had my eye on the recipe for a while, so I decided to look for a dish that called for sour cream so I'd have a chance. 

The sour cream is DELICIOUS (Luke and I were instantly hooked) though we agreed it wasn't super like sour cream. It has the lactic sour tang, but the texture isn't there. It almost reminded me more of hummus in texture. Either way, it's delicious, and I recommend you try it! 

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tostadas with Avocado "Cream" Sauce 
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod's recipe

1 cup raw cashews
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium butternut squash (you'll want 4 cups cubed squash)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste 
1/2 red onion, sliced 
1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 avocado
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 jalapeno (or whole if you like things hot!)
1/2 cup cilantro, plus more for garnish
 Juice of 1 lime
2 15-oz cans black beans
4 ounces mixed greens
8 tostada shells

Start by making the cashew sour cream. Place cashews in a bowl and cover with an inch of boiling water. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain cashews, reserving water, and place in a blender. Add in 1/4 cup water along with vinegar, lemon and salt and pulse until smooth. Add additional water as needed. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss butternut squash with olive oil, cumin and salt and pepper. Roast 30 minutes, adding red onion half way through and tossing to combine.

Meanwhile, in a small-medium sauce pan, toast pepitas. Set aside. In the same pan, add black beans and warm up.

To make Avocado "Cream" sauce, add 1/2 cup cashew sour cream to a food processor with avocado, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, lime and remaining tablespoon olive oil. Pulse until smooth.

To assemble, spread a thin layer of avocado cream sauce on a tostada shell. Top with greens and then squash and black beans. Finally, top with pepitas and cilantro and additional salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy!

Apologies for the worst photo ever. Trust me, doesn't do it justice! Courtesy of my iPhone at my desk at work...