Almond Feta Cheese

In our house Summers are synonymous with Greek salads.  My hubby and I honeymooned in Greece and Greek salads have been a part of our summers ever since.  The salads in Greece are out of this world. They were served with an abundance of fresh, ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, sweet red onions, fresh basil and oregano.  Everything is fresh and so flavourful and the olive oil is out of this world.  I'm salivating as I think about it :).  They also come topped with a generous helping of feta cheese.  I love feta, love the tangy and salty flavour. I love the way that pairs with tomatoes and olive oil. I enjoy it occasionally. But in the summer, when we're having it on a weekly basis or even a few times a week, then I'm not thrilled at the thought. Most of my meals are plant based and I want to get my family on board with plant based eating (at least for most of their diet).  But I also don't want us to give up the foods we love (especially when they're healthy!), so I figured I might as well try to see if I can come up with a plant based feta recipe.  I've never made nut based cheese before, but I figured it's possible because I have made coconut sour cream by adding in some probiotic capsules.

Guys, this tastes great and is loaded with gut friendly probiotics.   Probiotics help to proliferate your microbiome with beneficial bacteria. Good bacteria helps to crowd out the bad bacteria and yeast that can contribute to gas, bloating, parasites and an overgrowth of yeast.  Bacteria (good and bad) and yeast live harmoniously in our microbiome. An imbalance can be created through the use of antibiotics, chemicals in our food, stress, or an over-consumption of processed foods and sugar.  In this case, the bad bacteria and yeast can take over which can then lead to food sensitivities, gas, bloating, digestive upset and a myriad of health issues.  One of the things I like about traditional feta is that it has this friendly bacteria and is fermented.

When I was looking for some ideas on how to get started with making this recipe, I found some plant based cheese recipes, but there was no fermentation. I'm sure these recipes taste good, but unfortunately are lacking in probiotic benefits normally found in traditionally prepared feta.  In my practice and in my family, the gut is critical to overall health. I am always trying to find ways for us to consume more fermented foods and this recipe is now another way for us to do it.

Soak almonds 12-24 hours in water at room temperature or refrigerated. Strain almonds, rinse and discard the liquid and peel the almonds. Alternatively you can blanche them and then peel instead of soaking overnight or use already blanched almonds and use them directly in the recipe. Soaking is my preferred method of preparation as it allows the almonds to be more easily digested and removes some anti-nutrients such as oxalic and phytic acid. Place hulled almonds in a blender, add in 1 1/4 cups of water, probiotics and sea salt. Blend for a minute on high until the mixture is smooth.

In a saucepan, add the remaining cup of water and the agar agar and stir until it dissolves. Add this to the blended almonds and blend for another 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a square glass container and refrigerate uncovered for approx one hour until the cheese hardens and sets. Remove from the fridge, cover and leave in a warm place for at least 24 hours. Place in the refrigerator again, when the taste of the "cheese" is to your liking. The longer you leave it, the more it will sour. In this recipe, I used two capsules of Pure Encapsulations 50 billion CFU probiotics. It's important to use a good quality probiotic, otherwise the fermentation process will not take place.

This sounds like a long process but for us it's well worth the effort.

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Almond Feta Cheese

Author: Lara

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 5 MinTotal time: 10 Min

This is a quick and yummy version of the Greek Salads.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of almonds
• 1 1/4 cups of water
• 3 tsp sea salt
• 2 capsules of 50billion CFU probiotic
• 1 tbsp agar agar powder
• 1 cup of boiling water

Instructions

1. Soak almonds 12-24 hours in water at room temperature or refrigerated. Rinse almonds and discard the liquid and peel the almonds. Alternatively you can blanche them and then peel instead of soaking overnight or use already blanched almonds and use them directly in the recipe.
2. Place hulled almonds in a blender, add in 1 1/4 cups of water, probiotic capsules, 2.5 tsp sea salt (or to your liking) . Blend for a minute on high until the mixture is smooth.
3. In a saucepan, add the water and the agar agar and stir until it dissolves. Add this to the blended almond mixture and blend for another minute.
4. Transfer the mixture to a square container. Refrigerate for one hour until the cheese sets and becomes solid. Remove from the fridge, cover and leave in a warm place for at least 24 hours until you are satisfied with the taste. The longer you leave it out, the more it will ferment and develop a more sour taste.

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