Herbed Cheeze Wheel
This recipe is for the slightly advanced dairy-free heroes. It’s my absolute favourite cashew cheeze and all my friends, even the cheese addicts, love it. So be gutsy and give it a go.
Herbed Cheeze Wheel
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
12 - 48 hrs
Servings
1
What's inside
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⅓ cup water
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1 cup cashews, soaked and drained
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½ garlic clove
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½ lemon, zested and juiced (4 Tbs)
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1 Tbs nutritional yeast
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¼ tsp sea salt
Decoration
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1 Tbs cracked pepper
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2 tsp dried oregano
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2 tsp dried basil
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2 tsp dried thyme
How to
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Add all the ingredients to your blender and blend.
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Occasionally turn the blender off and scrape down the cheese until you get a smooth texture. This will take about 2-3 minutes.
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Lay a cheesecloth (or other muslin cloth, like a thin tea towel) in a bowl.
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Pour the mixture into the centre of the cheesecloth. Close the cheesecloth with a rubber band and hang the cheese above a bowl so that excess water can drain out.
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Leave the cheese in the cloth for at least 12 hours (ideally 24-48 hours) – the longer the rest time, the firmer the cheese.
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Check if the cheese is ready by opening the cheesecloth. If it stays the same shape and you can see the structure of the cheesecloth then it is dry enough; if the cheese ‘melts’ or is still runny, it needs some more time.
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In a small bowl mix the pepper and herbs.
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To wrap the cheese in its herbed crust, put the cheese in the cheesecloth on a board. Open the cheesecloth on all sides, leaving the cheese ball in the middle. Carefully form the desired shape by pressing it a down little bit until you get the typical flat, round cheese shape. Evenly spread out 1 tablespoon of the pepper-herbs mix on the cheesecloth next to one side of the cheese. With great care using the cheesecloth, turn the cheese onto the herbed side. Continue this strategy until the whole cheese is covered and finish by decorating on a nice board.
Kitchen Hack
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Instead of hanging the cheese you can also put the cheese mixture in the cheesecloth in a sieve on top of a bowl and add some weights (like one or two cans) on top to squeeze out the excess liquid.
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If your cheese doesn’t get firm enough you have a couple of options:
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Leave it in the fridge for a bit longer.
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Transfer it to a thinner muslin.
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Squeeze out some of the water by hand.