Creamy cashew mayonnaise and cashew cream cheese.

Photo shows a jar of cashew mayo and a container of cashew cream cheese.... And 2 toasted sourdough bread slices, romaine lettuce, smashed avocado, cherry tomatoes, cracked pepper ground on top and homemade mayonnaise drizzled all over.

Homemade creamy vegan mayo 

& savoury cream cheese

Once you start experimenting with making your own cheeses and mayonnaises - a whole new world opens up. It's so exciting creating these delicious and easy recipes and I'm sure you'll be happy to find how they will improve your meals drastically.

I've selected 2 recipes today - but they're terribly similar to make with some minor variations.

And once you've made them - you can get a little more experimental yourself.

The mayonnaise is so very tasty because of the garlic, truffle oil, mustard and dairy-free probiotic - and using a generous amount of fresh lemon juice in this recipe - really brings out the zingy flavour even more. 

One thing I learned early on in my experiments with food - that citrus fruits really bring out the tastes in food. 

I squeeze lemon or lime juice in so many meals that I would never have thought of doing so before - and even oranges, clementines or mandarins do wonders also. Fruit salads always get a generous combination of lime and mandarin juice squeezed all over.

I make a big jar of mayo that normally lasts me 1 to 1.5 weeks. 

It gets drizzled on veggies, baked potatoes, a dollop spooned onto soups, salads, sandwiches, crackers or toast with avocado and tomatoes.

The cream cheese recipe is just a nice thicker texture. And spreads on better for crackers or toast.

And - sorry - the cream cheese is only achievable with a high powered blender.

I've written the 2 recipes together as that's how I make them. But if you don't have a power blender - this mayo recipe will still suit you - as I've taken that into account. 

For years I made this mayonnaise on the most powerful glass blender I could find - and it worked well .. not quite as creamy a finish as with a power blender - but still a very beautiful recipe. And glass is such a healthier material so at least one wins in that department. 

Tip: If you like you can try making your own truffle oil - by cleaning and then chopping up about 1 tsp. of a truffle into 3 or 4 tiny pieces and leaving it to effuse it's aroma into 1/3 - 1/2 cup of light olive oil. Storing it in a room temperature dark pantry is perfect.

The longer it's left the more pungent the oil becomes. At least 2 weeks is ideal. If you purchased more truffle than you needed to use - store it in oil in the fridge until you want to use it. The storage oil may become jelly like around it but that's easily cleaned off when you want to use it again.

This is definitely one of my favourite recipes. 

It's such a treat to share.

Ingredients:

2 cups raw cashews (Soaked for at least 2 hours. If you expect that you may leave them soaking for longer - squeeze in a little lemon).

1 to 1 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard.

2 Tbl. Light olive oil.

Juice of 1 medium sized juicy lemon.(Or use more if you're mad for lemon juice)

1 tsp. Truffle oil.

1 to 2 cloves garlic.

Salt to taste.

1/4 cup water.

3 dairy-free probiotic capsules. 

(N.B : For those making this without a power blender... You will add approx. 3/4 to 1 cup of water (or more) instead of the 1/4 cup listed above.....basically you will be adding enough water depending on how runny or thick you prefer your mayo).

Discard the water the cashews have been soaking in and blend all ingredients except probiotics.
When a creamy consistency is reached...stop blender and check temperature of the mixture in the blender...if it's only warm and not too hot ... start blending again and empty the probiotic capsules into it while it's running.. Discarding the empty capsules. Probiotics die if exposed to strong heat. So keep this in mind, because an alive culture is healthier and will give this recipe a gorgeous rich cheesy / yogurt-like taste - especially after it's developed in the fridge for a day or more.

For those making cream cheese - it's ready! ... Remove 1/3 or  1/2  the mixture (depending on whether you want to make just a little cream cheese - or more) and place in jar and pop in fridge. (To serve you can garnish with lemon zest if entertaining and wishing to give a nice finish).

For the mayonnaise recipe ... Now add approx. 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water to the remaining contents of your blender... and blend well. Add more or less water depending on how much of a runny or thick consistency you prefer for a mayo.
And that's it! Put your mayo into a jar and store in fridge.

As mentioned above -tastiness increases after a day in the fridge because the ingredients and especially the probiotics create a tasty and yogurt-like  / cheesy effect.

Alternatives

*Add a tiny amount of beetroot powder or grated fresh beetroot (and really only the tiniest amount is needed) and you'll have a fun hot pink mayonnaise.

*Experiment making your own vegan cashew sour cream - by adding a lot more lemon juice.

*To make a plain cream cheese instead of this savoury one - leave out the mustard and garlic and add just a little sweetener (like maple syrup) and use a little less lemon juice. - Taste test it while making it- until you get a nice taste and balance of sweet and sour. Sometimes I'll even add just the tiniest dash of pomegranate syrup or balsamic syrup (about 1 tsp.)to the blender - I like a hint of that sweet and sour taste quality they both have. A plain cream cheese is great for bagels and jam or toast or crackers - or as I've presented in the photo below.  If serving your plain cream cheese to guests - try sprinkling some very finely crushed raw walnuts on top as a garnish.

Photo shows Plain cream cheese on sourdough toast with raw baby spinach leaves, sliced raw apricots (or any stone fruit, berries or fruit jam or syrup would work)- and balsamic syrup drizzled on top.

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Remember to always ... serve Love at your table.

ღ

© Magdika Cecilia Pérez  

(for : serve Love at your table)