Raw Vegan Pub Cheese!!!

When I was growing up Friday nights in my house were great. My mom would let us put our feet up on the table and recline back like old men, we would eat pub cheese, and my mom would crack a rolling rock while we listened to tunes on the radio. Life was simple. Good cheese, family, and music was all we needed. 

Unfortunately dairy is no longer a friend of some members of my family (nor is the gluten in beer anymore) so we have had to make some changes. 

I have made a raw vegan version of the famous pub cheese to fill the void and luckily there are some great Gluten Free beers hitting the market to recreate the magic. 

Here is a list of the top 10 Gluten Free Beers from Gourmet Magazine

I made this with soaked raw almonds and macadamia nuts. The great thing about soaking your nuts before eating them is that it removes a lot of the lectins (protein binding carbohydrates that are found in plants and animals). Lectins can be harmful for digestion because of their binding qualities that can attach to the intestinal lining and cause a lot of problems such as reduced nutrient, mineral, and protein absorption, as well as leptin resistance (a pre diabetic condition linked to obesity). This is important information for people with gluten allergies who are probably dealing with or have dealt with some kind of intestinal damage like leaky gut :/

Read more about lectins and how to reduce them in your diet here

Not to fear because soaking nuts greatly diminishes the lectins levels so this recipe is free from gluten, grains, and dairy as well as gut friendly :) 

First off rinse and then soak your nuts overnight in filtered water.

Drain the nuts and rinse off any additional residue and place in a blender along with the remaining ingredients. 

Blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning. 

Transfer to a fine sieve lined with cheese cloth and place over a bowl to drain overnight. ( I know there is a lot of waiting here but the prep is stupid easy so it all works out in the end)

Turn out the cheese and eat up! 

Raw Vegan Pub Cheese

Raw - Vegan - Paleo - Gluten Free - Grain Free - Soy Free - Sugar Free

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews 
• 1/2 cup raw macadamia nuts 
• 3 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3/4 cup Water
• 1/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt
• 1 Garlic Clove minced
• 3 Tbl chopped Parsley (measure after chopping)
• 2 tsp Dried Thyme
• 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 Tbl Chopped Chives (measure after chopping)

Instructions

1. Rinse off the nuts and place in a bowl.
2. Cover with water and place in the fridge to soak overnight.
3. Drain and rinse the nuts and place in a blender along with all of the remaining ingredients minus the chives.
4. Blend until smooth.
5. Fold in the chives and transfer the cheese to a sieve lined with cheesecloth placed over a bowl to drain.
6. Fold the cheesecloth over the top and place in the fridge to drain overnight.
7. Turn out the cheese and serve!

Notes

1. The flavors need time to mellow in this recipe so if you taste it right out of the blender don't be surprised if the garlic and lemon come on strong. Feel free to play around with the amount of garlic to suite your preference. If you don't like a raw onion favor feel free to leave the chives out but they really lend a good bite to the cheese.