Need a quick fix to get the family together and started on some food?
We wanted to share with you some last minute Easter tricks on how to curate a Easter cheese board that everyone in your family will love. We have some tricks on how to have a little of something for everyone, yes, incl. non-vegans.
They don't always know they are eating something vegan until you tell them :) So don't. Vegan food does not have to be noticeable.
So should we get into what to serve at the table as a nice and fulfilling appetizer?
You need to make sure to have a few ingredients that you might not have in your pantry for this cheese board. Plus, we are going to make once delicious vegan cheese from scratch that takes a few minutes and sits for a few hours to thicken
Let's jump right in, shall we?
The cashew sliceable cheese
This sliceable hard cheese is perfect to make battered sticks as well. You can try that if something gets left over from your cheese platter :)
Ingredients to make the sliceable cashew cheese
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1 cup Raw Cashews (150g)
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⅓ cup Water (80ml)
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5 Tbsp Lemon Juice Freshly Squeezed
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2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
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¼ cup Tahini (60g)
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½ Medium Carrot (~30g) peeled and sliced
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2 ½ tsp Salt
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¼ tsp Paprika
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⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper
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1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
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¼ cup Nutritional Yeast
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1 tsp Garlic Powder or flakes
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1 cup Water (240ml)
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1 Tbsp Agar Agar Powder must be powder and not flakes*
Instructions
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Add the cashews, ⅓ cup water, lemon juice, coconut oil, tahini, carrot, salt, paprika, cayenne, dijon mustard, nutritional yeast and garlic powder to the blender and blend until very smooth. Leave the mix in the blender and set aside.
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Add 1 cup of water and the agar agar powder to a saucepan and heat, stirring regularly until boiling. Boil it for 1 minute (time it), stirring regularly and after 1 minute remove it from the heat and pour it into the blender on top of the cheese mix.
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Blend until smooth.
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Moving quickly, as it will start setting up very fast, pour the mix out into a round dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
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Refrigerate until set. To remove from the bowl, turn upside down onto a plate.
Notes
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It is crucial for the success of this recipe that you use agar agar powder and not flakes. Flakes are much less powerful and if you DO use flakes you will need to use 3 times as much (3 tablespoons).
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This might seem like a lot of salt, but it works perfectly in this recipe.
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I used a regular round bowl, it was 5 inches round and 2 inches deep. I chose it because it was quite straight up the sides so created a nicer shape for the cheese. But you can really use any bowl or ramekin, and if your bowls are smaller, then just use 2 bowls for 2 smaller blocks of cheese.
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This cheese can be grated but it tends to get firmer the longer it’s in the fridge. So it’s better for grating on the second day than on the day it’s made.
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It does also melt. We put a slice on a cracker and put it in the microwave for 15 seconds and it melted. So yes it does melt!
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We have also tried it on pizza. We tried it grated onto a pizza and sliced. Either way was great. We put it on with all our other toppings before going into the oven and it got nice and soft and melty along with the other toppings. It doesn’t spread or anything, but it’s very good.
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This recipe makes one 21 ounce (600g) round of vegan cheese.
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Serving size is 4 slices which is approximately 1 ounce.
Notes: Here in our cheese we actually made 2 of them. One colored darker with turmeric powder and one original color and mixed them together to create the color differentiation. Give it a try if you have the time.
Creating the Vegan Cheese Platter
Now for the cheese platter we recommend the following:
- Yves Veggie Cuisine Veggie Cuisine Veggie Pizza Pepperoni
- Red or Green Grapes
- Dried Apricots
- Salted Cashews
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Green and Black Olives
- Crackers (gluten-free: Mary's Gone Crackers)
Want to impress your non-vegan family with vegan deli slices? We recommend adding this vegan corned beef, which is available at several grocery stores now.
Now lets put all the items together on a platter, there are many ways to decorate.
Don'f forget to include some sweetness; vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free donuts.
