Shelled cashew nuts primarily pale (5)
I believe the answer is:
ashen
'pale' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'shelled cashew nuts primarily' is the wordplay.
'shelled' says to take the centre (the outer letters or shell are removed).
'primarily' says to take the initial letters.
The middle letters of 'cashew' are 'ashe'.
The initial letter of 'nuts' is 'n'.
'ashe'+'n'='ASHEN'
(Other definitions for ashen that I've seen before include "Like bird" , "bleached" , "White" , "Shane (anag.)" , "Pale in complexion" .)