Seaweed & roasted garlic cashew cheese (fermented)
Seaweed & roasted garlic cashew cheese (fermented)
Fermented food is good for your gut. It is probiotic rich and the fermenting process makes the nutrients easier for your body to absorb. You can use any flavour combination in this recipe, but seaweed and roasted garlic is delish.
Yields 1 cup
Ingredients
1 cup cashews – soaked, drained, rinsed[i]
¼ cup water kefir (first ferment) or ¼ cup of liquid from a fermented vegetable
3 tablespoons seaweed – reserve 1 tablespoon[ii]
1 tablespoon coconut cream
1 tablespoon roasted garlic[iii]
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon Himalayan or sea salt (non-ionized salt)[i]
Steps
Soak cashews for 6-8 hours.
Drain and rinse cashews.
Put cashews, kefir, 2 tablespoons of seaweed, coconut cream, roasted garlic, lemon juice and salt in a high-speed blender. Blend until creamy. Fold in remaining seaweed.
Pour it into a 1-quart mason jar - leave a couple inches at the top because the cheese will expand. To reduce the possibility of mold developing you can pour a small amount of olive oil on the top.
Cover the jar with cheese cloth or a thin tea towel and secure it with an elastic. Store in a warm, dark room (I put it beside my dehydrator) for 72 hours. When it reaches the right tanginess for your taste, put a lid on the jar and store it in the fridge. It will last a week.
[i] I soak all my nuts and seeds. It removes the enzyme inhibitors making them easier to digest.
[ii] Use whatever dry seaweed you like. I have crumbled up a nori sheet or broke up a sheet of dashi kombu. The results were good in both cases.
[iii] I usually roast the whole head of garlic. I loosely wrap it in foil and place it in a 375 F oven until it is soft. Roasting adds a sweetness to the garlic. Store the remaining garlic in the fridge for 3 or 4 days. Use it as a spread or in other recipes.
[i] An ideal salt for fermenting is whole, unrefined, and full of natural vitamins and minerals.
How to - fermented cashew cheese
