Tag: tasty

Vegan “Goat Cheese”

wherethekalegrows1 Comment

Wow. Just wow. This is about the coolest thing ever and I just want to put it on everything…sort of. This magical spread is a dairy free, vegan, gluten free nut based “cheese.” Now usually I get away with goat or sheep cheese, being allergic/intolerant to the trifecta of gluten dairy and eggs. I think this is because there is a different strain of protein (I think it’s a protein anyway) in goat and sheep milk called A-2, whereas regular Holstein cow milk (most dairy in the US) is A-1. Which, as many of you lactose intolerant people have experienced, is not easily digestible and more often than not entirely irritating to the system.

However, lately I’ve been not having so much luck with any cheese. I blame it on my seasonal allergies making my body hyper alert and sensitive. Poo poo. This nut cheese is pretty bomb, though. I got the original recipe from Fork and Beans and you can check it out here.

This is the original recipe without the pesto/basil layer.

For Nut Cheese:

  • 1/2 c. raw cashews, soaked for 2-3 hours, drained
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/3 c. water
  • 1 Tb coconut oil
  • 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
  • pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS

  1. Take both small glass ramekins and line with plastic wrap. Don’t skip this step. Trust me. I learned the hard way.
  2. In a high-speed blender, blend all of the nut cheese ingredients until smooth. Place part of the mixture into lined ramekins.
  3. Refrigerate for several hours until set. You can also freeze it.

So, like I do, I loosely followed this recipe. I definitely used more than a 1/2 cup of cashews and forgot lemon juice. That may be a crucial step in the setting up of the ‘cheese’ but I like it still without, so next time. I substituted coconut oil for avocado oil and added nutritional yeast, dill, thyme and fresh basil. Then I blended it with my immersion blender and plopped it into a plastic wrap lined bowl and into the fridge it went!

Here is the finished product.01d42959dd15ee36a2b2a1bcabd63dc4e012dcc120 It’s definitely more like ricotta, I guess. It lacks stability like a chevere but it still is a nice tasty protein packed spread for my freshly made gluten free bread. 0158901bf6f4698bfb4758d36af9fe846e54c6fc83 01b4fb6fc83a7d0e556a489b52a9f52a7c5a9fc891Let me know if what your favorite cashew based treats are! Happy spring lil Cottontails!