Usually, when we talk about faux cheeses we mean something not as good as the regular dairy product. More often than not vegan substitutes are waxy, plastic, rubbery, springy or crumbly versions of the real thing. They fall apart and lack that mouthfeel that we crave.
Of course, technology is progressing and every year new substitutes appear on the market, some of them being really sweet. Figuratively speaking. We already have vegan mozzarella, cheddar, gouda, cream cheese, camembert, ricotta, and whatnot. All of them take some time and effort to make, not rocket science, but still time-consuming. But today we are not in the scientific mood. So let’s just get our hands dirty with the recipe so easy that you probably would cry of laughter and joy.
Among all faux cheeses, there’s one that literally takes you 5 minutes to make. The irony is that in the real world of dairy production it takes a total of 18 to 36 months to properly age that cheese to get this flavorful wheel to the market. Yes, we are talking parmesan here. Parmigiano Reggiano – the king of all cheeses.
This is the battlefield where vegans gain victories. Maybe not glorious, but still.
Hopefully, you’ve already dusted your food processor while reading it, because it’s going to be a real blitzkrieg. Take 100 g of raw cashews (yes, usually vegan cheesemakers would soak them overnight, but didn’t we tell you it was going to be 5 minutes flat?) and throw them in together with 10 g nutritional yeast (this adds funkiness, cheesiness, and savoriness), ¼ tsp of garlic powder and some salt and pepper. Pulse until everything looks like grated parmesan. You are done!
Why bother making the whole wheel of parmesan when you can make beautiful grateable ingredient in no time. Put your ready meal in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for several months. It’s superior on top of pasta, pizzas, gratins, meatballs, you name it.
What do you think?