Thursday 23 March 2017

Vegan almond feta with some feta recipes

Feta is not a favourite cheese of mine but it does give some recipes a boost.  I have experimented with a few vegan feta recipes and it is hard to replace.  Some I have tried making have been too dry or the wrong texture.  Last year I made vegan feta with raw almonds.  I almost didn't post it because it didn't work in the salad I made it for.  But it was very good as a spread and in sausage rolls. 

I was reminded of this almond feta when I tried a tofu feta recently and wished it was as good as this one.  It is quite a soft spread.  I think I preferred it to the baked almond feta, which was good, especially for crumbling, but could be a bit dry.  This one was lovely on crackers and sandwiches but was a bit soft for mixing into a salad.

One of the advantages of this recipe was that it is really simple.  Just blend the ingredients.  No faffing about with baking or resting or straining.  It is the sort of recipe to make when you need feta now!

I had grand visions of using the feta in this Quinoa, cashew and honeyed carrot salad.  I had lots of lovely photos of the vegies from the farmers market.  It didn't quite work so I have listed a few more recipes below that I would like to try the feta in, which I think might be more successful.

The almond feta looks pretty on top of the salad.  But when mixed through, the salad was just too clumpy.  I have had a few almond feta dishes in cafes where the feta is served in a lot of oil.  Maybe this would make a difference?  More of the feta was enjoyed on crackers.  But there was a lot of it.

I then used the last two thirds of it in some sausage rolls for my dad's birthday lunch.  I could have used a cup of it in the recipe but as I just used what I had.  It replaced the cottage cheese which is quite creamy.  I then used 9 tbsp aquafaba and reduced the soy sauce to 2 tbsp because the feta was salty.  They worked really well, if I remember rightly (though in my recipe notes I write more about the difficulty of listening to Missy Higgins talking about depression while chopping onions than about how the sausage rolls tasted.)

Meanwhile, I have had a bit more time for cooking this week but need more time to write up some of the dishes I made.  And it is Harmony Week and I had just remembered we are meant to make something for afternoon tea tomorrow at school.  I have made mashed potato at an unholy hour to use in making potato scones tomorrow morning!

I am sending this to Kimmy and Mary Ellen for Healthy Vegan Fridays

Recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe to try vegan feta:
Baked carrot and feta risotto (gf)
Carrot, feta and cashew dip (gf)
Feta cheese and pepper crackers
Pea, quinoa and feta fritters (gf)
Red onion, feta and olive tart
Sausage rolls 

Vegan feta
From Eating Vibrantly

1 1/3 cup raw almonds (about 200g)
1/3 cup lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves
1 1/4 tsp salt flakes
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp water

Blend and scrape down a couple of time until smooth.

On the Stereo:
Music from "The Singing Detective": Various Artists

9 comments:

  1. It sounds really interesting - glad you found a good vegan feta alternative.

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  2. I like the sound of simple! Also the use of it in sausage rolls - one of these days I will finally bite the bullet and experiment with vegan cheeses :P You are doing well at building up a good selection of recipes that hold appeal for me.

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  3. I love feta and didn't realise that it was so hard to imitate! Sounds like a nice, easy recipe too :D

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    1. I find that some vegan substitutes are fine in one dish but not in another (such as egg substitutes) and feta is one that I have found this with

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  4. I don't think I've ever tried to make vegan feta, but I do remember liking it when I did eat it, and I definitely like almonds, so this one's a goer with me. I definitely appreciate the minimal effort recipe too.

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  5. How long can I preserve it? Whats the shelf life for it?

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    1. Hi Deepak - I think I had it a week or so in the fridge but my notes weren't detailed enough to note this on the recipe. However with all the salt and lemon juice, it should be pretty stable for at least a week and probably more

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  6. I agree, I wasn't always a feta fan but I don't mind some of the vegan versions. I think your feta would be great as a dip or adding to other recipes too like you did. It would be a wonderful replacement to cottage cheese. You always have such great ideas Johanna!
    Thanks so much for linking up with us for Healthy Vegan Fridays! I’m Pinning and sharing!

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  7. It's funny, I never liked feta before going vegan. I had never been a cheese person in general. And even after going vegan, it was just ok. But I recently had some at a restaurant that makes their own and it was so good. I'm intrigued to try making some of my own - this sounds really good!

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