Vegan cheese Labaneh- cashew cheese

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Vegan cheese, Labaneh- cashew cheese that is made from cashew nuts is a very tasty vegan cheese substitute. I found cashew to be the most suitable in this middle eastern recipe. The taste and texture of ground cashews are very similar to the familiar flavors of milk cheeses.

Labaneh balls are originally from Lebanese and Greek. They are made from soft white goat’s milk cheese that is rolled into small balls and kept in a jar filled with olive oil.

Cashew nuts are good vegan replacements for dairy products such as yogurt, milk and even cream cheese. In the process shown here (with some changes) you can produce not only white balls but also yogurt and white dip

In this recipe, the role of fermentation is to get the sour familiar taste of labaneh cheese balls. The fermentation process creates amino acids that give the familiar sourness.

In order to get started the fermentation in the grounded cashews, it is recommended to use some type of starter. A teaspoon of a previous batch of the cashew cheese will do the job. However, If you don’t have a previous batch of cashew cheese, it is possible to use a teaspoon of fermented brine form your fermented vegetables.

Another important point in the success of this recipe is the use of a good blender. Continuous operation of the blender is required to obtain a smooth texture of the cashew mixture. If you do not grind the cashews long enough, you will get a gritty texture.

Ingredients:

     500 g cashews
     350 ml water
     10 grams kosher salt
     1 teaspoon starter from previous cashew cheese/ fermented brine

Instructions:

• Grind all ingredients until smooth.
• Transfer the mixture into a bowl and cover with a piece of cloth In order to give the mixture access to oxygen.
• Leave the mixture out of the refrigerator for 48 hours, and stir twice a day in order to get oxygen into the mixture and help the fermentation proses.
• After 48 hours when the fermentation process is complete, transfer the fermented mixture into the refrigerator for 12 hours until the mixture is slightly hardened.
• Pour a little of olive oil into the jar, and start rolling the cashew mixture into a small ball. In order to get smooth and beautiful balls put some olive oil in your palms when you start the rolling process.
• Fill the jar with olive oil until you completely cover the labaneh balls.

Finally, at the end of the process, it is possible to add zaatar to the labaneh balls. If you decide to prepare a labaneh dip you can add garlic, chives or black pepper.