Cranberry Rosemary Vegan Cheese Ball
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or in hot water for at least 15 minutes
- 3-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame paste (or tahini or peanut butter)
- 2 clove of garlic , Pressed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon rosemary powder
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
- ¼ cup roughly chopped dried cranberries
- ¼ cup roughly chopped walnuts
- Place the cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, olive oil, miso paste, garlic and salt in a small food processor and blend until smooth.
- Add the rosemary, chives and cranberries and pulse a couple of times to combine.
- Transfer the mixture to a small bowl you’ve lined with plastic wrap, leaving quite a bit of overhang on the plastic wrap to fold it up over the top of the ball. Twist the plastic wrap to form the cheese into more or less a ball shape and put it into the fridge for a couple of hours or the freezer for an hour, or until it’s firm.
- Just before you’re ready to serve, toast the chopped walnuts in a pan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they smell wonderful and taste nutty – about 10 minutes. Blitz them in a food processor until finely ground and then transfer them to a plate.
- Remove your cheese ball from the fridge, reshape it into a ball if necessary, and remove the plastic wrap. Roll it in the crushed walnuts to cover (I like to hold the ball between two spoons while I do this to help keep the shape and not get so messy!).
- Serve with crackers, fresh or pickled vegetables and/or fruit slices.