bread spread

This vegan ricotta cheese is simple to make yet creamy, indulgent and really delicious. It makes a fantastic soft cheese replacement. It's also gluten-free.

Vegan ricotta cheese

/ 60 ml coconut cream (optional)*

lemon juice

tsp white miso paste**

yeast

roasted (for milder flavour) garlic clove

salt

white (or black) pepper

dry oregano

dry thyme

tsp agar flakes (optional, see INSTRUCTIONS)

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Greek fava made from yellow split peas, red onions, lemon juice, oregano and thyme. It is best served warm with fresh bread and as part of a mezze.

Greek fava spread

yellow split-peas

onions

garlic clove, crushed

tsp fine salt, more to taste

bay leaf

oregano

thyme

pepper

tbsp extra virgin olive oil,

Put oregano and thyme into a tea strainer and immerse into boiling water for a few minutes.

Rinse split-peas well, put them into a pot with oregano and thyme-infused water and regular water (use about 3 and ½ cups of liquid in total), two quarters of an onion, and a bay leaf.

Simmer covered on a low heat until peas are completely soft.

As the peas are cooking, chop an onion finely and saute it in a pan in olive oil until caramelised slightly.

Place cooked peas on a sieve to drain excess liquid, keep the liquid in case the texture needs loosening up.

Blend the peas and onion until smooth using an immersion blender. I prefer a milder onion taste so I blended only one quarter of an onion with the peas (and discarded the other quarter).

Add lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.

Serve warm, topped with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sauteed red onion and capers.

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Vegan ricotta cheese

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Top 2 bread spread recipes from across the web

The most viewed bread spread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Vegan ricotta cheese

Greek fava spread

The most viewed bread spread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine