This recipe is from Valerie Wilson, which she adapted from County Life Vegetarian Cookbook. This cheese block can be shredded and used to replace dairy cheddar in any recipe (or to make grilled cheese sandwiches). If you have a Vitamix you can skip the presoak.

 

• 1 ½ cups water

• 2 ½ teaspoons agar powder or 5 Tablespoons agar flakes (*See Note on Using Agar)

 

• ¾ cup raw cashews (soaked overnight then drained and rinsed)

• 1 T tahini or 2 T white sesame seeds

• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes

• ½ cup roasted red peppers

• Juice of 1 large lemon

• 2 tsp. onion powder

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 tsp. sea salt

Put the water and agar flakes or agar powder in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer on medium for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Meanwhile put all the remaining ingredients in a blender. Add the hot agar water and puree at high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until the mixture is velvety smooth. You may need to scrape the sides of the blender once or twice. Pour the cheeZ into a glass mold and chill overnight.

*Important Note on Using Agar: Agar is the plant alternative to animal gelatin. You can use agar powder (sometimes called agar-agar) or agar flakes. The amount of agar you use will vary depending on whether you use agar flakes or agar powder. Some conversions call for 1 teaspoon of agar powder for every tablespoon of agar flakes. I use less – closer to ½ teaspoon agar powder for every tablespoon of agar flakes. However, I encourage you to experiment to find the consistency you like.