How to Make Vegan Cheese for Toasts and Pizzas
Ah, the distant 80s.
How I miss you.
A wonderful era, where the music was dark,
The fashion was ridiculous,
And everyone loved melting yellow cheese over anything that moved.
And it had a name: "Au Gratin" (Hakrama).
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was a national obsession:
Gratinated potatoes (which we devoured at Cafe Yehudit in Gan Ha'ir),
Gratinated salads (at Cafe Kapulsky on the ground floor of Dizengoff Center),
And they even gratinated soups at "Yotvata Ba'ir" on the boardwalk, or maybe it was Cafe Batya?
I don't remember, but fortunately for us all, that trend has passed.
But if you still crave that kind of vegan cheese that can top toasts or pizzas,
You can do it very easily.
The following recipe contains only 3 ingredients and is very simple to make.
Unfortunately, it doesn't have that "stretchy" cheese effect like pizza cheese, but it is good enough to satisfy the craving.
A bit about the recipe:
I used cashew nuts because of their high fat content and neutral flavor. You cannot substitute them with other nuts in this recipe.
To give the cheese its characteristic cheesy flavor, I used one tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes (powder works too). You can buy this at any health food store.
If you don't have nutritional yeast, you can use the same amount of white miso.
To thicken the cheese, I added one tablespoon of cornstarch. You can use any other starch like tapioca or even one tablespoon of white wheat flour.
The cheese can be frozen, and it will keep well in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days.
Made the cheese? Tag me on Instagram so I can share! 🙂
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Nutritional values by clinical dietitian and fitness coach Noam Bechar:
One tablespoon of cashew cheese weighing 50g contains:
53 calories
2g protein
3.5g carbohydrates
3.7g fat
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How to Make Vegan Cheese
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Instructions
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Soak the cashews with 2 cups of water overnight (at least 3 hours).
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Pour the cashews with the soaking water into a blender and add the tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes.
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Blend well until a smooth and homogeneous paste is obtained.
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Transfer to a pot.
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Add the tablespoon of cornstarch and stir over low heat.
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Continue stirring constantly until the cheese thickens and pulls away from the sides.
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Be patient, it takes a few minutes.
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When the cheese is ready, it should be very viscous and elastic.
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