Boursin

Boursin went down well with work mates: "fresh and light". It's the basic cashew nut cheese with a ton of parsley, tarragon, oregano and some home grown garlic. Next time I'll just stir the herbs in rather than blend so it doesn't end up quite so green.


Edit: I'm under pressure on Vegan Reddit for the recipe so here goes. It's from Miyoko Schinner's book Artisan Vegan Cheese, all credit there. 

The Basic Cashew Cheese is the start: 
2 cups raw cashews soaked in water for 3-8 hours, longer gives an easier blend.
pinch of salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup of rejuvelac, (see post below) 

Blend these ingredients, then put it in a clean glass bowl and cover. Leave to culture at room temperature for 8-36 hours, it will taste sharper the longer you leave it but a warmer environment speeds the process up. You can form the cheese to eat at this stage or tinker about with it adding flavours.

So to make the Boursin to Schinner's recipe:

1lb of Basic Cashew Cheese cultured for 1-2 days (she says don't let it get too tangy, I like it more that way).

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

2 to 3 minced garlic cloves (I used one as I prefer it less pungent)

1 tablespoon fresh minced fresh chervil or 1 teaspoon dried (I used more tarragon as we didn't have chervil)

1 tablespoon fresh minced fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried

2 tablespoon fresh minced fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

Thoroughly mix the Basic Cashew Cheese with the herbs, garlic and yeast flakes. Taste, modify with additional herbs or garlic as wished.Shape it by hand or use a mold lined with cheesecloth or clingfilm, Cover and refrigerate  till firm, at least 6 hours.

Wrapped in clingfilm and stored in the fridge in a sealed freezer bag Shinner says it will keep for 2 weeks, or up to 4 months in the freezer. Ours just gets eaten so I can't vouch for that!

Definitely tinker about with this to suit your own taste, but people like the herby freshness of this one.

Boursin in a bap with beetroot made for a perfect summery lunch.