If you have recently given up dairy but still find yourself craving an artisan-style cheese then this is the perfect recipe for you. It uses only 3 whole food ingredients and it’s tastier and healthier than any processed vegan cheese you will find at the market. When it’s fresh out of the blender it’s like a silky smooth cream cheese but if you firm it up in the fridge overnight and roll it in dried herbs, you will have the most amazing gourmet cheese you ever tasted. But be careful with this stuff…it’s very addicting.

INGREDIENTS

Makes about (3) 6 inch rolls

2 ¼ cups cashews
¼ cup filtered water
¼ cup lemon juice
3 tbs tahini (sesame butter)
1 ½ – 2 tsp sea salt

Place cashews into bowl and cover with water (water should fill to about 3 inches above nuts). Soak overnight or for at least 4 hours. Drain nuts and rinse well. Place cashews and the remaining ingredients into a high-speed blender (like a vitamix or blend-tec) and blend until silky smooth, about 1-2 minutes.

Note: use the tamper to help push the ingredients into the blades if mixture starts to stick to the sides of the container. You can also try making it in the food processor, however it may need to process for 8-10 minutes, scraping down the sides a few times. This should give it a silky smooth texture like the high-speed blender is able to achieve.

At this point, you can take a cup of the cheese mixture and place it into a sealed glass container, store it in the fridge,and use as you would any cream cheese.

To make the cheese rolls, place a large strainer over a medium sized bowl and then line the strainer with a large piece of doubled cheesecloth (as shown in photos). Scrape the cheese into the cheesecloth and fold the cloth over the mixture.

Place the bowl into the fridge and allow cheese to firm up overnight (at least 6 hours) this makes it easier to work with when rolling in the dried herb mix.

Remove cheese by lifting the cheesecloth out of the strainer, set on top of a cutting board and cut into 3 pieces (as evenly as you can).

Place a sheet of wax or parchment paper on the counter next to the cutting board and spread your herbs out evenly (recipe below).

Take a clean piece of cheesecloth and place one piece of cheese into cloth, using the cloth so the cheese doesn’t get all over your hands, carefully form into a 5 inch log (2 ½ diameter).
Roll log into the herb mix and coat well. Do this with the remaining cheese rolls. Store one of the cheese rolls in the fridge for up to 5 days and place the remains rolls in a sealed container in the freezer.

Important note: since the herbed cheese only last 5 days in the fridge once it’s thawed, you may want to place rolls in the freezer for about 1 hour to firm up a bit, then remove and slice into individual servings (about 1 inch slices) and place them back into the sealed container. Store in the freezer for up to 1 month and thaw one serving at a time to preserve freshness.

DRIED HERB MIX

¼ cup dried basil
¼ cup dried dill
1 tbs dried sage
1 tbs dried thyme
1 tbs garlic granules
1 tbs black pepper

Place into a small bowl and mix well.
Store at room temperature in a sealed glass jar.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
⅙ of a single cheese roll

Calories: 135
Carbs: 8 g
Protein: 4 g
Fat: 10 g
Omega 3: 0.04 g
Fiber: 1.5 g

Calcium: 38 mg
Iron: 1 mg
Magnesium: 55 mg
Potassium: 149 mg
Selenium: 3 mcg
Zinc: 1 mg

B1: 0.17 mg
B2: 0.05 mg
B3: 1.12 mg
B5: 0.20 mg
B6: 0.13 mg
Choline: 10 mg
Folate: 13 mg
Vitamin C: 4 mg
Vitamin E: 0.16 mg
Vitamin K: 5 mcg

BCAA’s
Isoleucine: 0.18 g
Leucine: 0.34 g
Valine: 0.25 g

Source: cronometer.com