Thursday, May 3, 2012

Pepperjack Cashew Cheese

Oh my my, I love cashew cheese. There are a lot of store-bought, processed vegan cheeses out there, and some of them are quite good but few are meant to be eaten without melting first. This Pepperjack recipes is inspired from The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions, which I talked about here.
This recipe makes a lot of cheese and could easily be cut in half.

Spicy Pepperjack Cashew Cheese
Soy-free, Gluten-free, Vegan
1 Tbsp agar powder
3 cups water
2 cups raw cashews, soaked
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Prepare a loaf pan (9x5 or so) by lightly oiling the bottom and sides.

Blend the cashews in (ideally a Vita-mix) mixer or food processor until totally smooth. Add the lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, onion and garlic powders, and red pepper flakes and mix together until smooth.
Meanwhile measure 1 Tbsp of agar and mix with 3 cups of water. Bring to a full boil and then boil for five minutes, whisking often.

Pour the cashew mixture into agar/water pot and stir together until well combined and smooth. The cheese should come together at this point and clear the sides of the pot.

Immediately fill your prepared loaf pan with the cheese and smooth over the top.
Refrigerate until hard. When ready gently pull cheese away from the sides and flip it out. Cut with a serrated knife. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week. For longer storage tightly wrap the cheese in plastic wrap several times and store in freezer.
Enjoy with crackers or fruit.

6 comments:

  1. This was very tasty. Kate, Bea, and I all liked it. Is it supposed to have olive oil? I noticed it mentioned in the directions, but not in the ingredients list.

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  2. I'm glad you tried it Graham! Thanks for noticing the olive oil. I had originally made it with a little oil then felt like it was too oily with the cashews. What did you think? Did it seem like it was missing something without it?

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  3. I actually made it will olive oil (about 2 Tbsp). It was, in fact, too oily. But still good!

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  4. What would you recommend using instead of agar powder? I haven't been able to find it hear in Malaysia :(

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  5. I think anything you use to replace agar powder would involve adjusting the recipe a lot. you could always order agar online...
    i wish i could help you more.

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  6. It's ok! I'll put this recipe into my 'to-do' folder! Shipping costs are pretty high here...but I'll keep my eyes open for some here!

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