This is another vegan recipe from Robin Enotera. She brought it as a snack to one of our Neighbours for the Planet meetings and it was delicious! It had the consistency of cream cheese and went very well with crackers!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup RAW cashews
3/4 teaspoon salt (+ more to adjust to taste)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon tahini (sesame paste)
1 tablespoon light Miso paste
1 raw garlic clove
A food processor or a high speed blender.
DIRECTIONS
Soak RAW cashews in hot water for 6 hours to overnight. The longer you soak them the smoother your cheese will be. Drain and rinse repeatedly with fresh cold water, until the water runs clear.
Tip soaked and rinsed cashews into the bowl of the *food processor. Add all other ingredients. Blend / process at highest speed for 1 minute, stop and scrape down sides with a spatula, and process again for another minute. Continue this until the mixture is very smooth, with no lumps at all. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. It should be slightly salty and acidic but not to the point that you won’t enjoy it.
When it is the desired consistency and taste, pack into a clean glass mason jar, seal it up and refrigerate. The texture will change when the mixture cools, and it will become a bit more solid, but still completely spreadable.
You can add herbs and spices to the mixture, such as green onion or chives, fresh or dry dill, finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped olives or whatever you like.
A food processor is most useful, but if you haven’t got one, a high speed blender will work, but you may have to add the cashews in stages, and also a bit of water to allow it to blend. The final product will be a little looser but it’s ok, it is still delicious and very useable.
This “cheese” is fantastic on a bagel or sandwich. If you like, add a drop or two of liquid smoke (found in most grocery stores), and extra garlic cloves, and 1/4 cup of water to the processor or mixer and pour it over cooked pasta for an awesome faux Alfredo sauce. I always have a small dish of this on my appetizer platter, to enjoy with crackers and bread, or chopped raw veggies.
Enjoy!
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