Vegan Smoked Gouda Cheese

By LEP04

For this recipe you can make some easy alternations if needed. You can use all almonds or all cashews. I haven’t tried it with any seeds but I worry that the batter wouldn’t get creamy enough. I also added liquid smoke. You can omit this and up the smoked paprika if desired. Before adding the agar, you can taste test and see what adjustments may be needed. At this point I don’t recommend substituting out the agar due to the texture properties that it gives.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw almonds, soaked
• 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp raw agave nectar
• 1 tsp fresh pre-made mustard
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp minced, dried onion
• 1 cup water
• 5 Tbsp agar flakes or 1 1/2 Tbsp agar powder

Preparation

Step 1

After soaking the almonds and cashews, drain and rinse them. Place in a high-powered blender.
Add 1/2 cup water, lemon juice, agave, mustard, liquid smoke, nutritional yeast, salt, paprika, garlic powder and minced dried onion. Blend until creamy. The mixture will be thick. If you have a Vitamix with a plunger, use that to keep the mixture moving. Otherwise, stop your machine occasionally to scrape the sides down.
Test for grittiness by rubbing it between your thumb and finger. If you feel grit, keep blending.
Once the cheese mixture is ready, it is time to make the agar. In a small sauce pan, bring 1 cup of water to light boil, add the agar. Stir continuously until the agar had dissolved. This can take several minutes. Keep whisking! If it gels up in the pan, return to heat and melt it down again.
Start the blender and get a vortex going with the mixture. Drizzle in the agar gel and blend until combined. You will need to stay focused and move fairly quickly. Agar will start to set up as it cools.
Pour into mold and then place in the fridge, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes. Eat sliced or shred!
Note ~ I don’t use anything to prepare my molds to help them release once it has set. It is good about just popping out.
Keep in the fridge up to 5 days.