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I have to say that this is the first cheese that I've made using almond nuts and I rather like it.
The cheese is meant to be similar to a feta and in some ways I guess it is but I personally won't user the word feta to describe it. It does, however, have a really nice clean taste to it. It chops cleanly, is slightly crumbly (this is something I want to work on) and is surprisingly light in character.
It will take a couple of days to make, so plan ahead. You'll need to soak the almond overnight, then there's time for the cheese to mature, cool and then you'll need to bake it and again allow it to cool before serving.
As with all vegan cheeses, you'll need a high powdered food processor or Vitamix.
The original recipe comes from here (Crumbly almond feta). I've changed it slightly.
Ingredients
1 cup almonds
4 tbsp lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
½ tsp salt
50-100 ml water
Method
Notes: I'm going to try a much lower temperature to bake my cheese next time around for a longer time to try to dry it out a touch more. I felt it needed it if it was to crumble better but I loved the taste.
I just need to work on presentation!
Served with a rich chickpea salad.
The cheese is meant to be similar to a feta and in some ways I guess it is but I personally won't user the word feta to describe it. It does, however, have a really nice clean taste to it. It chops cleanly, is slightly crumbly (this is something I want to work on) and is surprisingly light in character.
It will take a couple of days to make, so plan ahead. You'll need to soak the almond overnight, then there's time for the cheese to mature, cool and then you'll need to bake it and again allow it to cool before serving.
As with all vegan cheeses, you'll need a high powdered food processor or Vitamix.
The original recipe comes from here (Crumbly almond feta). I've changed it slightly.
Ingredients
1 cup almonds
4 tbsp lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
½ tsp salt
50-100 ml water
Method
- Soak the almonds for a minimum of 8 hrs in clean water. Drain and rinse until the water runs clean.
- Sit and remove the skins from the almonds by pinching the almonds so that they come out of the skin. This is essential because leaving the skins on changes the texture and colour of the cheese.
- Add all of the ingredients to a high powdered liquidiser/blender, using half of the water initially. You want to blend until it is a smooth texture using as small amount off water as possible. I found I needed all 100ml of the water for my first batch.
- Once you have a nice smooth texture, scrape the mixture out into a cheesecloth and shape in a bowl or colander/sieve.
- Move to a dehydrator and mature at 125°F initially for 3-4 hrs, then drop to 105°F for the remaining 12hrs. Allow to cool before removing from the cheesecloth, scraping out any stuck pieces out cheese and reassembling into a rough cheese shape using wet hands if needed. If it comes out cleanly, just use a little water to smooth over any cracks.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, turn the cheese out onto a small piece of greaseproof paper/baking parchment and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes to cook and turn brown.
- Remove and allow to cool thoroughly before serving.
Notes: I'm going to try a much lower temperature to bake my cheese next time around for a longer time to try to dry it out a touch more. I felt it needed it if it was to crumble better but I loved the taste.
I just need to work on presentation!
Served with a rich chickpea salad.
