Delicious Cashew “Cheese”

This delicious creamy cashew cheese is endlessly useful! Try it as a dip for crudités (your veggies will never be boring again!), or use for spreads, wraps or even in casseroles such as vegan lasagnas or enchiladas. 

Ingredients highlights:

• Cashews are indispensable in vegan cuisine, once soaked and blended, it has a creamy consistency that no other nut or seed butter can emulate.  The versatile cashew can be made into sauces, spreads, cheese and even cake frosting! Cashews are rich in vitamin e, zinc and magnesium.
• Nutritional Yeast –Yellow in color, nutritional yeast comes in flakes, granules or a powder-like form and is often found as a condiment due to its savory taste and health benefits. It has a nutty, cheesy flavor and is often used to emulate cheese in vegan dishes, thicken sauces and dressings, and act as an additional boost in nutrients because it’s filled with B vitamins.
• Turmeric contains the compound curcumin, a well-known anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant, lends a yellow colour to vegan cooking that emulates the colour of eggs and cheese.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours or overnight*

3 tbsp. nutritional yeast

2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 large garlic clove (or two small cloves), minced

¼ to ½ tsp. salt, to taste

A sprinkle of black pepper

½ tsp. of turmeric

1/3 cup water (more as needed)

 

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients except the water into a food processor or Vitamix. Blend to break down the cashews, until they form a course meal. Scrape the sides of the food processor or blender down with a spatula.
2. With the motor of food processor or Vitamix running, drizzle in the water and let the cashews process for about 10 seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides, then continue to process for about 1 or 2 minutes until the cashew cheese is smooth and thick, adding water if needed.
3. Taste the cashew cheese and adjust lemon juice, salt, pepper, as needed.

Variations: stir in chopped herbs like basil, rosemary, dill.  Or add finely chopped green onions, cilantro, red bell peppers.

Makes 1 ¼ cup    

1 serving = 2 heaping tbsp. = 2 fats       

*By soaking, you are breaking down the phytic acid which otherwise would bind onto vitamins and minerals and impede their absorption. Nuts also have high amounts of enzymes inhibitors. This is another reason why un-soaked nuts are hard to digest. Soaking nuts can neutralize the enzymes allowing for proper digestion.