I've been really fascinated by artistic, vegan cheeses for some time now. Fortunately, I failed the first time. That fueled my determination to keep trying. Intentionally, I did not go out and buy the most popular food book on the topic, but instead, collected lots of information and spent the money on good, raw, organic cashews. The result? A darn success! This cheese turned out exactly what I wanted - soft, firm, flavorful, sharp and RAW. I'm now experimenting with other seeds and nuts like sunflower and brazil nut. Recipes to come! I would recommend consuming this with a fine cracker or flatbread. It SLICES. You'll want to take advantage of this as you can also dredge it in breadcrumbs and fry it in a good butter if you want to really go hard. However, I curated this recipe as a raw, confectionary thing that is intended to be consumed cold, as such. But I still love to hear about adaptations on these recipes and certainly anything you think could improve a good thing.
You'll need some thick muslin and|or a thin dish towel or cloth napkin. It drains for a few hours. This is basically a super thick cashew cream, with the whey drained out. Similar to making Panir, a traditional whole milk Indian cheese, this uses the same method by removing the moisture, leaving the curd, which in this case is the cashew pulp, smooth and creamy. I pressed fresh herbs, lemon zest and pink sea salt into the outside when it was done to create a flavorful crust. Recommended!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup raw, organic cashews
1 lemon
fresh herbs such as Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano or Parsley
coarse pink salt such as Himalayan or Maldon, to taste
1 Tb nutritional yeast
freshly minced garlic
filtered water
cheesecloth, muslin and a thin dish towel
colander
METHOD
Soak the cashews in enough filtered water to cover them by one inch. Do this for a minimum of 4 hours, and up to 24 hours. Strain the soaking water off and rinse the cashews. Put them into a food processor or blender with a pinch of the salt, the nutritional yeast, fresh garlic and the water a tablespoon at a time until it is blended thick, creamy and smooth. You want to use the least amount of water possible but still get a completely smooth slurry. Line the colander with the cheesecloth, muslin and the dish towel. Pour the cashew cream into the middle and fold the ends over. Place this over a bowl that can catch the liquid that will drain from the cashew puree. I put a plate and a bowl on top of the towel to press more liquid out and I think that's a good way to get it really dry. Let this press for 6-12 hours or overnight, and then remove the cheese round to a cutting board. Press in your dried herbs and lemon zest or salt or pepper or jalapeño or anything that sounds good! This will keep about 5 days in the fridge, wrapped in plastic or stored in a storage container. Serve with crackers, crisp breads, on salads or breaded and fried.
ENJOY~!!!
