Raw Vegan Herbed Nut Cheese!

By Diana Paez, February 4, 2014

I never thought I would say I like vegan cheese more than real cheese, but this recipe might have permanently changed my mind!

This last weekend I attended the Raw Living Expo and one of the biggest highlights was learning how to make this marvelous nut cheese by world-renowned raw food chef and founder of the Living Light Institute, Cheri Soria. She is the real deal! Some of the best raw chefs in the world attended her school and I was so thrilled to ‘get a taste’ (sorry I had to – lol) of the living gourmet wonders that come out of that place. And now you do too!

So this recipe takes a little prep and wait time, but it is sooo well worth it! And you can make enough to last for a few meals and snacks.

Ingredients: Yields: 2 Cups unseasoned cheese

• 2 cups Raw Macadamias (or cashews) soaked in 2 cups  filtered water for 6-8 hours

• 1 more cup filtered water

• ¼ teaspoon probiotic powder (optional: helps digestion of nuts and adds more of a ‘cheesy’ flavor).

Seasoning ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Light Chickpea Miso
1 Tbsp. chopped raw pine nuts (or pumpkin seeds)
1 Tbsp. finely minced red onion
½ Tbsp. Minced Fresh Parsley
1 tsp. minced fresh Dill Weed
1 tsp. finely minced Green Onion
1 tsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
¼ tsp. pureed garlic (or finely minced)
Pinch of ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Blend the Macadamias (or cashews), 1 cup water, and pro-biotic powder in a high-performance blender, adding more water if necessary to achieve a smooth, creamy texture.
2. Combine the cheese, miso, pine nuts, onion, parsley, dill weed, green onion, parsley, dill weed, green onion, nutritional yeast, garlic and pepper in a medium bowl and stir well.
3. Line a small colander or plastic berry basket with damp cheesecloth, allowing several inches of the cloth to drape down and out the sides of the basket.
4. Set the colander or basket on top of a plate, and pour the mixture into the cheese cloth. The dish will catch liquid that drains from the cheese.
5. Fold excess cheesecloth over top of cheese and place cheese in a warm (not hot) location to ferment. After about 2 hours (if you used probiotics), place a weight on top of the cheese (a cup of grains, water, or seeds on top of a plate) to help press out the excess liquid. If you didn’t use probiotics, put the weight right away.
6. Check the cheese every 2 to 3 hours and drain excess liquid from plate. Continue fermenting for a total of 8 to 12 hours or until the cheese reaches your desired flavor. I simply waited over night.

Garnish with fresh parsley leaf. Serve as a spread over sliced cucumbers and candied pecans, anything you want! Enjoy!