serves
6
prep
20 minutes
cook
45 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
6
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
45
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 75 g cashews
- 400 g fresh tiger loaf
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tsp tapioca flour
- 1½ tsp salt
- 3 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 150 ml warm water
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp olive oil
- black pepper
Herb oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 120 ml olive oil
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking sheet. Line a 12cm ovenproof dish with parchment paper.
2. First make the cheese. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil on medium heat. Add the cashews to the pan of hot water and boil for 20 minutes to soften. Remove from the heat, drain and leave to cool.
3. Prepare the loaf: Use a bread knife to cut even slices across the top of the loaf, 3cm apart, making sure you don’t cut all the way through as the base needs to remain intact. Turn the loaf 90 degrees and cut across the first slices to make a criss-cross pattern.
4. To make the herb oil, peel and roughly chop the garlic. Remove the leaves from the rosemary by running your thumb and forefinger from the top to the base of the stems (the leaves should easily come away) and finely chop. Put the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper into the mortar and bash them with the pestle to make a paste (or put the ingredients in a small bowl and use the end of a rolling pin). Pour the olive oil into the mortar and mix with a fork.
5. Put the loaf on the baking sheet. Use a pastry brush or teaspoon to drizzle the herb oil deep inside the cuts. Put the baking sheet in the oven and cook for 25–30 minutes, until golden and toasted (note: you will be adding the cheese to the oven before the cooking time is finished).
6. Meanwhile, finish the cheese. Peel 1 of the garlic cloves and put it in the liquidiser. Add the drained cashews, tapioca flour, salt, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar and warm water. Blend to a smooth cream.
7. Pour the cashew cream into the saucepan, taste and season with salt and pepper. Put the saucepan on medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Pour into the parchment-lined dish.
8. Peel the remaining garlic clove and cut it into sticks. Remove the rosemary needles. Gently push the garlic sticks and rosemary needles into the top of the cashew cheese so that they stick out the top. Drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle over a little black pepper.
9. When almost ready to serve, put the cashew cheese in the oven alongside the bread and bake for the final 12–15 minutes, until the cheese has formed a skin and the colour has darkened. Remove and serve immediately.
Recipe from Bish Bash BOSH! by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby (HQ Non-fiction, $35).
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
