Approx Time to Make: 30-45 mins

I’ve made different variations of this tofu based ‘cheeze’ many times, which I absolutely adore.

This time, I decided to make it & divide the mix into two. With one half, I made a mini herb roulade; with the rest, I made these little cheeze ‘boules’ coated in different coatings:

1) Sweet Smoked Mild Paprika
2) Cracked Pumpkin Seeds & Black Pepper
3) Chopped dried Chilli flakes

Just the perfect size to pop on Cairns Oatcakes, for a social gathering.

Recipe for Cultured Cheeze:

1) Blend the following ingredients until smooth

2) leave the ingredients in the blender as you’ll be adding the Agar Agar gel next (see next step)

🧀 200g block Tofu
🧀 2 TBS Coconut Oil
🧀 2 TBS Lemon Juice
🧀 Mustard (I used Dijon)
🧀 1/2 cup Cashews or Macadamia nuts
🧀 1 TSP Garlic Granules
🧀 1 TSP Salt (more if you prefer)
🧀 1/4 cup of plain Soya Yoghurt (no sugar)
🧀 1/2 TBS Red Wine Vinegar
🧀 1-2 vegan probiotic sachets *

* These are not essential to the structure, but do add a sharpness to the cheeze if left for a day.

🧀 Dissolve 1.5 TBS agar agar in a SMALL amount of hot water until it forms a gel like paste. *

3) 🚩 *Working very quickly so it doesn’t cool & set, add the Agar Agar gel to the blended ingredients above, & blend thoroughly.

4) To make the boules, make sure you chill the Cheeze thoroughly in the fridge, before trying to shape them with very cold hands & a teaspoon.

Shape the cheeze mixture into balls & then roll in the desired coatings.

5) For the roulade, line a glass with baking paper & pour the mix in. Leave to set in the fridge.

Once cool, remove the cheeze from glass & unwrap the paper.

Roll the cheeze ‘cylinder’ in dried mixed herbs.

Alternatives:

Use different moulds & top with different toppings: crushed pistachios, dried fruit, chutney etc

Storage:

Keep the cheeze in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.