03 Dec, 2009
Raw Vegan “Cheese Spread”, Made With Almonds (Not Cashews)
Posted by: Angela Leeds In: *LGS Daily Recipe|Appetizers, Salads & Side Dishes|Great Raw Pot Luck Recipes|Main Dishes
A recent new member to my site specifically requested some recipes for raw cheeses, as she loves cheese dearly, and this is my first offering in that category.
I’m also a serious lover of seriously wonderful cheese. Irish cheddar… Dutch parrano… Greek feta… genuine Italian parmagian… I very much enjoy a few slices with a glass of red wine. Delicious. I’m not ready to bid those experiences adieu forever as yet, so I completely understand.
Consistent with my general paradigm around fresh, raw, living foods, I made this recipe to be easy to whip up on-the-spot so that it’s something one can turn to frequently, when a bit of something savory beckons. I chose not to start off with a recipe using raw cashews, although that is usually what raw food enthusiasts use for their “cheesy” recipes. Instead, this is made from the pulp leftover from making fresh almond milk, because raw almonds tend to be far easier to locate locally than raw cashews.
I have also included a small amount of Nama Shoyu, an unpasteurized soy sauce popular in the raw food community. I’m not a frequent user of Nama Shoyu, due to its reputation for containing glutamates (as do all soy sauces, raw or not). However, it is glutamates that give certain cheeses their compelling savoriness (such as with parmagian), and I wanted an undertone of that savory quality in this “cheese” spread.
If you don’t have Nama Shoyu, you can use a bit of Tamari, which is pasteurized and not raw, until you can get your hands on the unpasteurized product.
This is not a firm, sliceable recipe. It is soft, rather fluffy, a spread which you can also use as a dip with raw crackers, fresh vegetables, or organic tortilla chips for a “rawish” snack or meal. The flavor is mellow and nutty, not overpowering, quite light… but still has that savory quality (and rich calcium content) that may satisfy a craving for cheese.
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