Cauliflower cheddar cheese slices
Prepare to enter the vegan twilight zone …
Now look, settle down, these aren’t literally like the ones you buy in the fridge section. But they do have their uses ! They are tasty, hold their form and do melt and bubble. They are a little slimy and rubbery though. They need to be made in a flat sheet, not a block you can slice and are a bit fiddly. This is a job that has technique and you do need to follow the recipe pretty closely. But, if you want cheese, here you go 🙂
This picture is of a cheese slice on top of a slightly thicker version of the flat bread (http://www.opticook.org/?p=913)
Agar-Agar holds them together, a no smell kelp substance, the equivalent of a vegetarian gelatin. Read more here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agar
This recipe was adapted from Vegan Richa to be intensive phase compliant, original recipe can be found here http://www.veganricha.com/2014/07/cauliflower-cheddar-pesto-zucchini.html
joni xx
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 3 cups cauliflower florets
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp miso (from soup sachet)
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 pickled jalapeno, 3 slices (optional)
- 2 tsp Agar-Agar Powder
- In a large pan, add the oil and heat. Add the chopped garlic and cook for a minute. Add the cauliflower, water and cover and cook for 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender. Drain the water into a bowl. Add cauliflower and the rest of the ingredients except the agar to the blender. Blend to a smooth thick purée. Add a tbs or more water for the blending only if needed.
- Add the agar-agar and blend again. Transfer mixture to a pan and cook at medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes. (Once the mixture starts bubbling, keep cooking for 8 minutes so agar gets activated).
- Pour this onto a baking paper lined sheet and spread into a thick layer using a spatula. Keep the slices reasonably thick as thin slices will break too easily.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour to set. Cut into squares, peel each slice carefully from the baking paper and store between square baking papers in an airtight container. Keep for 4 days or you can freeze it.
- It doesn't have the stringiness of normal cheese, so care needs to be taken when heating or grilling as it can go mushy. Great for bakes and cauli pizza !
- This is a US based scoring system, so notes fibre as a sub category of carbs, so you need to minus fibre to get the total carb count for the Australian & NZ calculation
