Recipe: Vegan Nut Cheese

This recipe shows you how to give your favourite nuts a probiotic boost for added health benefits and taste. These savoury treats are best enjoyed on sourdough bread or together with your favourite homemade crackers. Recipe by Alexis Goertz, Edible Alchemy.

Probiotic nut cheeses are made in two basic steps—first, we create a simple probiotic starter called rejuvelac to give them a boost of healthy, living bacteria. Rejuvelac is a non-alcoholic, fermented liquid made from sprouted grains.

Once your rejuvelac starter is alive and bubbling, you are ready to dive into the making of your very own vegan cheese. Be sure to read both ingredient lists below before you shop for this recipe!

Rejuvelac

Ingredients:

• 120g of buckwheat (you can substitute this for any other sproutable grain, such as oats, rye, quinoa, barley, millet or rice)
• 500ml water
• 1500ml water

Instructions:

1. Soak the buckwheat in a jar with 500ml water for 8-12 hours. Then drain the water, rinse the jar and place the buckwheat grains back into the jar.
2. Rinse the grains one or two times daily. Be sure to keep them moist in the jar, preferably stored in a warm place away from direct sunlight. This rinsing step is essential so that no unwanted yeasts or mould can form.
3. After a couple days, you will see sprouts emerging from your grains. Once they have sprouted, do one final rinse. Cover the grains with 1500ml of filtered, unchlorinated water and sit for 1-3 days until the water turns cloudy and smells pleasantly lemony. Your final rejuvelac has a sharp and slightly tangy flavour with a mild, earthy aroma. Bear in mind that the taste may vary between grains.
4. Strain the rejuvelac into a jar or bottle. Set aside the amount that you need to make your probiotic nut cheese (see the recipe below).
5. Any leftover liquid can be used as a digestive aid, for example, in smoothies. The sprouted grains can also be used to make crackers or as a seasoning for salads, soups, or compost.

Rejuvelac can last 6-8 weeks in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator.

Nut Cheese

Ingredients:

• 250g of nuts (cedar nuts, cashews and / or walnuts)
• 60ml fresh, active rejuvelac (see recipe above)
• 50g of nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• Optional: 10g of garlic powder or several sprays /drops of liquid smoke
• Spices of your choosing (e.g. oregano, thyme, green peppercorns)
• Garnishes of your choosing, such as dried edible flowers or sprigs of fresh herbs

Instructions:

1. Start by dry roasting your nuts gently in a pan on a low flame. As soon as they begin to golden, they are ready. Set aside to cool.
2. Once they have cooled down, place the nuts in a large container and pour water over them. Let them sit in water for 12-24 hours. This step will help balance the bitterness of the nuts and ensure they easily blend into a soft texture.
3. Combine your nuts, rejuvelac and nutritional yeast in the blender and blend until you reach a very thick paste.
4. Depending on the type of nuts you used, you may need to add another splash of rejuvelac (to make it a bit smoother) or another tablespoon of nutritional yeast (to make it a bit denser).
5. Place your final paste in the fridge for 30 minutes so it firms up. This will make it easier to shape and handle. Form the paste into the desired shape with your hands.
6. Sprinkle your spices onto a plate and then gently, so as not to disturb the shape of the cheese, dab or roll your cheese over the spices. Continue this process several times until your vegan nut cheese is completely covered in a layer of spices.
7. Store in the fridge overnight before eating. This is an important step so the rejuvelac can unfold its probiotic effect on the vegan cheese and unlock those nutrients and deliciously nutty flavours.
8. Garnish with dried flowers or herb sprigs.

Probiotic cheeses should be stored in the fridge in a sealed container and consumed within 10 days or dried at 30°C in a dehydrator for 24 hours to get a rind and make the cheese a harder consistency to be stored for up to 2 months.