Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

After learning from my first go at nut cheeses, I have improved the recipe. I used half pine nuts, put it through the Vita-Mix and didn't freeze it (still smacking my forehead for that). It ended up being SUPER creamy and full of flavour. I let it age for 3 days this time and warmed it in the oven for about an hour, which developed the flavour and rind ever more.


My mom, who used to be a cheese lover and has practically given up dairy now, says that she loves this. Greg said he liked it too although "it's nothing like cheese". I have to agree. Don't expect cheese when you eat this - it's not! It's delicious cashews, garlic and rosemary. Enjoy the incredible flavour and texture for what it is. I guess you could call it Nut Pate if you want. Anyway - it's tasty and good for ya.

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Aged Pine Nut Cheese with Garlic & Rosemary: makes 1 wheel 
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1 cup pine nuts
1 cup cashews
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
Juice of a lemon 
1 tbs sun dried tomatoes 
2-3 tbs whole rosemary 
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 cup water
2 tbs favourite oil 
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Soak the nuts for around 2 or 3 hours. Blend all ingredients in high speed blender or food processor (blender really makes a difference though) until smooth. See if you like the taste. Change it until you do.
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Line a colander with a cheesecloth and put it in a bowl. Transfer the cheese mix into the colander and set it in a warm place for 1 or 2 days. Then leave it in the fridge for another day. You can dehydrate it or put it in your oven at a low temperature for maybe 30 minutes so it develops a crust. Enjoy!
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In other news: I watched A Night At The Roxbury a few nights ago and my love of disco has been reborn.  I downloaded the album, and as I wrote this post I was listening to this:

Check out my more recent recipe here.
I made this for the Christmas holiday, and it was HUGE hit! =) So flavourful.

I aged the cheese for a couple weeks, then got nervous it wouldn't keep until Christmas so... I froze it - I KNOW, terrible. I'm bad. I really shouldn't have. But I did. It turned out fine though.

I recommend aging your cheese a couple weeks before you want to serve it. Age it that whole time. For the first 2 days, leave it on top of your fridge, then for the rest of the 2 weeks keep it sealed in the fridge. The day you want to serve it, warm it up in the oven or dehydrator to give it a firmer exterior and creamy center. 

The cheese had amazing flavour, really delicious. The only qualm people had was the texture. (They still loved it though) I think it would've been creamier if I hadn't froze it. Next time... *sigh*

The darker one (below) is almond with sun-dried tomatoes. The lighter one is cashew with garlic.
I personally preferred the cashew wheel.

As for the type of nut to use, it depends on what you want. Cashews make a really creamy, smooth consistency. Almonds aren't so smooth, but they give it more texture and a different flavour. I can't afford pine nuts or macadamias, but apparently they're incredible for cheese.