A Trio of Almond Cheese: Chive, Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil, Chili & Rosemary

Well, finally - a new blog post! I've just been so busy lately and these have been sitting on the rather large "to be blogged" pile for quite awhile now :-) These are all variations on the Almond Chive Cheese which is actually already on the blog from way back in 2009. It's one of our favourite homemade cheeses but I decided to make a few changes this time around. Mostly I usually find myself without any sweet white miso paste whenever I want to make this so I've omitted that here, swapped the rice milk to either unsweetened soy or almond (both work well) and then tried a couple more flavours.

First I tried a Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil version and we both absolutely loved it!! Wonderful flavour and such a nice variation. I was just going to blog the two flavours but figured everything should come in threes right?? So I thought a spicy version would be nice and opted for one of my favourite flavour combinations, chili and rosemary (similar to my socca recipe). Really love this one as well, good heat coming through with the chili but not too overpowering and I love the rosemary there, this one will become a regular as well. The great thing about these cheeses as well? They are SO easy to make and set and chill within an hour, no waiting days or even overnight for these!

All of these cheeses are based on ground almonds, nutritional yeast, olive oil, unsweetened soy or almond milk, flavourings and set with agar flakes. Using agar can be a little hit or miss but the great thing with these is it doesn't matter if they have trouble setting, you simply end up with a spreadable cheese instead :-) Mine end up as you see in the photos here, you can slice them, carefully, but they are also soft enough to spread - the best of both worlds! But please note these are not grating or melting cheeses. We love them simply sliced/spread onto crackers or bread in the evening with either a nice red or white wine and my husband loves them in sandwiches.

~ Recipe Notes ~

• The recipes make small portions of the cheese. Above are the ramekin dishes I use to make mine, they fit perfectly and measure 3" across on the bottom, 2" high and hold 180ml/ ¾ cup liquid. I just give the dishes a spray of cooking oil and the cheeses always come out easily after running a knife around the sides. If you are using a different type of dish and are weary of the cheese coming out, simply line the dish with cling film.

• All recipes can easily be doubled or tripled if you would like more.

• I used dried chili flakes for the rosemary and chili cheese as you get more consistent heat levels with those as opposed to fresh chillies which can vary wildly in heat levels. That being said, you can easily use fresh chillies and rosemary, I would say 1 small red chili finely chopped and 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary and just use as per recipe.

• As mentioned above, don't fret if they don't set, agar can be fickle and these are just as good spreadable :-)

• When I say to grind the nutritional yeast flakes to a powder I always use a mortar and pestle but you can easily just use your hands.

Almond Chive Cheese:

• 40g ground almonds (5 Tbsp + 2 tsp) also known as "almond meal"

• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes, ground to a powder

• ¼ tsp garlic powder

• ¼ tsp onion powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 100ml unsweetened almond or soy milk (3.5 fl oz)

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 Tbsp agar flakes

• ½ tsp lemon juice

• 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the ground almonds, nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan whisk together the milk and oil. Sprinkle on the agar flakes and let it sit for 5 minutes (off the heat). Give it a good whisk now and turn the heat on to high. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking all the while, then reduce to a simmer and switch to a wooden spoon to stir. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring often.

Turn off the heat then quickly pour it over the almond mixture. Add the chopped chives and lemon juice then mix really well. You should have a fairly thick mixture. Scrape it all into the prepared ramekin dish then gently press it in using a sheet of cling film until it's nice and smooth on top. Wrap the whole dish in cling film and chill until set. They set pretty quickly, 1 or 2 hours.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Cheese:

• 40g ground almonds (5 Tbsp + 2 tsp)

• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes, ground to a powder

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 100ml unsweetened almond or soy milk (3.5 fl oz)

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• ½ Tbsp tomato paste

• 1 Tbsp agar flakes

• 2 Tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (the type packed in oil)

• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the ground almonds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan whisk together the milk, tomato paste and oil. Sprinkle on the agar flakes and let it sit for 5 minutes (off the heat). Give it a good whisk now and turn the heat on to high. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking all the while, then reduce to a simmer and switch to a wooden spoon to stir. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring often.

Turn off the heat then quickly pour it over the almond mixture. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and basil then mix really well. You should have a fairly thick mixture. Scrape it all into the prepared ramekin dish then gently press it in using a sheet of cling film until it's nice and smooth on top. Wrap the whole dish in cling film and chill until set. They set pretty quickly, 1 or 2 hours.

Chili and Rosemary Cheese:

• 40g ground almonds (5 Tbsp + 2 tsp)

• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes, ground to a powder

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 100ml unsweetened almond or soy milk (3.5 fl oz)

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• ½ tsp dried rosemary

• ¼ tsp dried chili flakes (also known as red pepper flakes)

• about 6 grinds of black pepper

• 1 Tbsp agar flakes

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the ground almonds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan whisk together the milk, oil, chili flakes, rosemary and pepper. Sprinkle on the agar flakes and let it sit for 5 minutes (off the heat). Then give it a good whisk and turn the heat on to high. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking all the while, then reduce to a simmer and switch to a wooden spoon to stir. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring often.

Turn off the heat then quickly pour it over the almond mixture and stir well, you should have a fairly thick mixture. Scrape it all into the prepared ramekin dish then gently press it in using a sheet of cling film until it's nice and smooth on top. Wrap the whole dish in cling film and chill until set. They set pretty quickly, 1 or 2 hours.

♥

Nutritional Information

(all per 100g and using unsweetened almond milk)

Almond and Chive Cheese: 

Calories: 385

Protein: 12.3g

Fat: 33.3g

Sat Fat: 3.4g

Fibre: 7.3g

Carbs: 12.2g

Sugar: 1.8g

Sodium: 619mg

Calcium: 138mg

Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Cheese:

Calories: 308

Protein: 9g

Fat: 26g

Sat Fat: 2.7g

Fibre: 6g

Carbs: 12g

Sugar: 1.8g

Sodium: 502mg

Calcium: 106mg

Chili and Rosemary Cheese:

Calories: 411

Protein: 12.1g

Fat: 35.9g

Sat Fat: 3.8g

Fibre: 7.5g

Carbs: 12.6g

Sugar: 1.5g

Sodium: 665mg

Calcium: 151mg

You Might Also Like:

Baked Almond Feta

Unprocessed Cheese Slices