Mozzarella Cream Cheese

Written By Leela Le Noury

SALT WATER BATH

8 cups filtered water

2 tablespoons fine sea salt

MOZZARELLA CREAM CHEESE

1 cup almonds, soaked overnight

1 cup cashews, soaked overnight

1 cup filtered water

¼ cup refined (unflavored) coconut oil

¼ cup tapioca starch

1 tspn sea salt

1 ½ tbsp agar-agar flakes (click this link for more info about Agar-Agar!)

OPTIONAL MARINADE

Olive oil

Seasonal herbs

INSTRUCTIONS DAY 1

  1. The day before, remember to soak your almonds and cashews. If the temperature of your kitchen is cool, they are fine out of the fridge, but in the summer (or if you have a particularly warm kitchen), place them in the fridge.

  2. Prepare the salt bath by bringing the water to the boil in a large pan, add in the salt and simmer until the salt is dissolved. Transfer to a large glass or ceramic jar and place in the fridge. It needs to be super cold when you make the cheese.

INSTRUCTIONS DAY 2

  1. The following day, drain and rinse the almonds. Cover them in boiling water and leave submerged for a minute or so. Pour into a strainer. Remove the skin of each almond, they slip off easily. Compost the skins

  2. Drain and rinse the cashews.

  3. Place the skinned almonds, cashews, filtered water, tapioca starch, sea salt and agar-agar flakes to your blender. Blend, turning up the speed to full and maintaining for a minute or so, scrape the sides down and briefly blend again. The mixture should be smooth.

  4. Transfer the cheese mixture to a saucepan over a low to medium heat. You will need to stir continuously until your mixture becomes very thick. Continue to cook for around 5 minutes but DO NOT STOP STIRRING!

  5. Remove your jar of salt water from the fridge and add a few ice-cubes. Use an ice-cream scoop to drop balls of cheese into the cold salt water.

  6. Seal your jar and return to the fridge, preferably overnight.

OPTIONAL EXTRA or FIRMER CHEESE

These cheese balls are super soft and delicious! If you would like to create something a little more robust, add in an extra 1/2 tbsp agar-agar to the mixture at the blending stage. The following day, if you like, you can gently scoop out the cheese and place it into a clean jar, topping up with olive oil, herbs, garlic and bay leaves.

Leela Le Noury
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