Vegan ricotta cheese

Step 1

Rinse the cashews and chop them roughly to help the blender process them. Divide them roughly into 3 portions.

Step 2

Place all the liquids - coconut cream, lemon juice and 2 tbsp of water - at the bottom of your blender. Follow by the first portion of chopped cashews. Process until fairly smooth. You will need to use a spatula initially to scrape down the mixture that stays on the walls of the blender. Once the first portion of the cashews is fairly smooth, slowly start adding the remaining cashews, blending well after each addition. If you want the cheese to have a ricotta-like texture, be careful not to over process it. If you want your cheese to be completely smooth, process until the mixture is silky smooth (like my 2nd photo - this cheese was super smooth like a cream cheese).

Step 3

Season with miso (see notes), nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, dry herbs, garlic and more lemon if you like your cheese on the tangy side.

Step 4

Put agar flakes and 60 ml / ¼ cup of water into a very small pot and set on the lowest heat. Let the mixture come to the boil and then let it simmer for another 10 min to activate. Make sure you stir it the whole time.

Step 5

Pour activated agar mixture into the blender and blend well. Pour the cheese into a small dish to cool down and set. It tastes better the next day once the flavours have had a chance to mingle but it will be ready to eat after 15-20 min. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Step 6

NO AGAR METHOD Place the liquids - coconut cream (or water) and lemon juice - at the bottom of your blender. Follow by the first portion of chopped cashews. Process until fairly smooth. You will need to use a spatula initially to scrape down the mixture that stays on the walls of the blender. Once the first portion of the cashews is fairly smooth, slowly start adding the remaining cashews, blending well after each addition.

Step 7

Since you are not using agar, you simply need to add minimum amount of liquid (that includes coconut cream or/and water) to the cashews in order to retain thick consistency without the need for a thickener. At some point your blender will struggle to process the mixture as it will be very thick and heavy. To remedy this, take blender's lid off and make small circles (in the direction of the turning blades), with a spatula, a few millimetres below the surface of the cheese mixture to help the blades turn. Please be very careful not to dip the spatula too deep or too close to the blades as it will damage them.

Step 8

Season with miso (see notes), nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, dry herbs, garlic and more lemon if you like your cheese on the tangy side. Transfer it to a jar and place in the fridge. It will become thicker and spreadable by the next day.