Herb & Garlic Vegan Cheese

I’ve been making this cheese for about 3 years now. This recipe is an adaptation of Carmella  Soleil’s Herb and Green Onion Cashew Cheese. It is a very easy recipe to adapt, you can start with the basic ingredients and add your favorite ingredients, capers, olives, caraway, dill, the options are endless. This is a wonderful cheese spread that reminds me of neufchatel cheese I used to buy years ago. Since I no longer use dairy, this is a wonderful alternative. This will keep for 5-7 days in the fridge. If you can’t consume it all in a week, consider cutting the recipe in half, or freezing the cheese for later.

 

I enjoy this spread on crackers and on raw bread with cucumbers, avocado and sprouts. But it’s also wonderful  to eat with vegetable sticks.

 

Ingredients:
2 C. organic cashews soaked for 12 hours
3 probiotic capsules
2/3-1 C. water

 

Herb Blend
1/8 tsp. salt
1 small clove of garlic minced
1 Tbsp. chopped chives
1 rounded tsp. dried basil
1 rounded tsp. dried thyme
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. herbamare

 

Directions
1. Add cashews to a bowl and cover with water. Let soak for 12 hours.

2. Drain and rinse cashews.

raw-cheese-in-blender

3. Place cashews in vitamix, add contents of probiotic capsules and water. Start with 2/3 cup water and add more if needed. Blend till smooth.

4.  Place a nut milk bag in a bowl. Transfer nut mixture to nut milk bag.

5. Place a plate on top of nut milk bag. Place a 2 quart jar of water on plate. You may need to adjust the quantity of water in the jar so it doesn’t squeeze out the cheese.

6. Allow this to sit on counter for 24-48 hours to culture. The longer it sits the more tangy the cheese flavor.

7. When cheese is ready, remove it from the bag and place in bowl. raw-cheese-in-bowl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

raw-cheese-and-herbs-in-bowl

 

8. Add herb blend mixture

9. Stir till well blended.

 

 

 

 

raw-cheese-in-cup10. Line containers with plastic wrap and fill with cheese. Place in fridge and allow to set.

 

11. Invert cheese on plate and gently press dried herbs on cheese.

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My Health Maven offers information on a wholistic approach to healthy lifestyle choices.