Cashew Nut Cheese Skewers
1 1/3 cups raw cashews
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
fresh basil, as needed for skewers
tomatoes, as needed for skewers
1. Soak the cashews in water overnight, or until they've plumped and softened. When ready, preheat oven to 300 degrees F, grease a 1 quart souffle pan or small loaf pan, and fill sheet pan halfway with hot water.
2. Drain nuts and process with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and water until smooth; let processor run for awhile to get that extra creamy texture. Taste, and add more salt if you like.
3. Next, transfer the mixture to prepared souffle pan. Place that pan onto prepared sheet pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. It's done when it starts to crack, and will form a thin crust on top (and sides). Remove from oven and stir well.
4. Then let it cool down. You can keep it in the fridge and make the skewers later if you like. Spoon a small amount of it and roll it with your fingers to shape and squeeze it to make it more dense.
5. Carefully put them on the skewers (or longer toothpicks if you can find them), and layer a basil leaf and tomato. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
You can also form it into a log and roll in crushed nuts or fresh chopped herbs and serve it with crackers.
Source of recipe: This recipe was modified from this one: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/10028?section=
SO HOW'D IT GO?
yuuuum! these were pretty good! i added some italian seasoning in the mixture before rolling them and baking. i think i actually liked it better prior to baking (maybe as a spread), but even my toddler chowed down a few mini cheeze balls along with meals. good, healthy fats. :)
i didn't have any fresh tomatoes or basil, so i didn't do them as layered skewers. i can definitely see them tasting yummier on skewers like in VegSpinz's pics, though. trying this out again in the summer with fresh tomatoes and some homegrown basil. :)