Dairy-free “cheese”… that melts? Sounds too good to be true right? Not with the magic of my vegetable cheese!
April 2018 – Nothing beats the deliciousness of melted cheese on top a pizza, in a toasted sandwich, on an open grilled sandwich or even just sprinkled over a pasta dish or lasagne. And that’s one of the things I missed most about ‘real cheese’ when I was strictly avoiding dairy.
I can now tolerate small amounts of cheese, however, large amounts and eating it frequently just don’t agree with me. This recipe is actually an old recipe (from 2015 in fact) that I was reminded of when using gelatin to make marshmallows over Easter and noticed that the marshmallows melted when exposed to heat…
I’ve tried many different versions of dairy-free cheeses, from nut parmesans to almond feta and cashew cream cheese – you can get all of these recipes here. However, none of these really ‘melt’ like regular cheese does. This vegetable cheese is the perfect answer for an open grilled cheese sandwich, toastie, pizza and even as a lovely cheese wheel on a nibbles platter!
As a bonus, Gelatin is is great for gut and joint heath!
Recipe Type: GF, DF, RSF, V option, Paleo
Time 10 min prep, 2-3 hrs to chill.
Ingredients:
- 1 C zucchini, peeled and chopped
- 1 C cauliflower florets
- (if you want, you can just use 2 C zucchini OR 2 C cauliflower instead of 1 C each)
- 2 T organic, grass-fed gelatin (for vegan you can use Agar Agar, however when I’ve tested this, it’s not worked as well as gelatin)
- 1 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp EVOO
- 2-3T nutritional yeast ( adjust for personal taste)
- 1 tsp fresh turmeric (this is mainly for the colour so you can omit if you like, although turmeric is fabulous for you)
- salt & pepper to taste
Optional additions for different ‘flavoured cheeses’:
- heaps of cracked pepper (for a peppery taste)
- liquid smoke, smoked paprika for a smokey cheese
- 1 T fortified port wine for port flavour
- oregano, basil, extra garlic
- chilli flakes
- garlic
Method:
- Steam zucchini and/or cauliflower so that it is tender.
- Transfer vegetables and water to a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Sprinkle gelatin over the top and wait a few mins to allow it to soften.
- Then add the remaining ingredients & flavorings into blender and blend until smooth.
- Transfer to an greased ramekin, or a lined baking dish or loaf tin (depending on what shape you’d like your cheese to be), place in fridge for 2-3 hours to set.
- Slice and serve as desired (in salads, on toast, melted on top of a saucy dish, on pizza, in and antipasto platter etc.).
- If you like, you can coat the cheese in a mixture of seeds to make it look a bit fancy!