Serves: 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

This always generates big smiles in all who behold it! Big thanks to Ellie from Kinda Co (makers of incredible plant-based cheeses) for the original recipe, which we collaborated on together in the early days of BOSH! Tapioca flour is crucial for optimum gooeyness, so do seek some out. To get ahead, make the cheese the day before and keep it in the fridge.


Ingredients

For the ‘cheese’

  • 75g cashews
  • 1 x 400g fresh tiger loaf
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp tapioca flour
  • 1½ tsp salt, plus extra for seasoning
  • 3 tsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 150ml warm water
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • Pinch black pepper

For the herb oil

  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 8 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1Preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas Mark 4). Line a baking sheet and a 12cm ovenproof dish with parchment paper. Have a small saucepan of boiling water on a medium heat and a kettle of water boiled. You’ll also need a liquidiser; while a pestle and mortar are optional.

2First make the cheese. Add the cashews to the pan of hot water and boil for 20 minutes to soften. Remove from the heat, drain and leave to cool.

3Prepare the loaf. Use a bread knife to cut even slices across the top of the loaf, 3cm apart, making sure you don’t cut all the way through as the base needs to remain intact. Turn the loaf 90 degrees and cut across the first slices to make a criss-cross pattern.

4To make the herb oil, peel and roughly chop the garlic. Remove the leaves from the rosemary by running your thumb and forefinger from the top to the base of the stem (the leaves should easily come away) and finely chop. Put the garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper into the mortar and bash them with the pestle to make a paste (or put the ingredients in a small bowl and use the end of a rolling pin). Pour the olive oil into the mortar and mix with a fork.

5Put the loaf on the baking sheet. Use a pastry brush or teaspoon to drizzle the herb oil deep inside the cuts. Place the loaf in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes, until golden and toasted.

6Meanwhile, finish the cheese. Peel one of the garlic cloves and put it in the liquidiser. Add the drained cashews, tapioca flour, salt, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar and warm water. Blend to a smooth cream.

7Pour the cashew cream into the saucepan, taste and season with salt and pepper. Put the saucepan on a medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, for two minutes, until slightly thickened. Pour into the parchment-lined dish.

8Peel the remaining garlic clove and cut it into sticks. Remove the rosemary needles. Gently push the garlic sticks and rosemary needles into the top of the cashew cheese so that they stick out the top. Drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle over a little black pepper.

9When ready to serve, put the cashew cheese in the oven alongside the bread and bake for the final 12-15 minutes, until the cheese has formed a skin and the colour has darkened. Remove and serve together immediately.


This comes courtesy of Taste of France Issue Two. For more great recipes, food news and interviews with top chefs, buy your copy here!

BISH BASH BOSH! by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby is out now, priced £20 and published by HQ, HarperCollins. For more recipes, visit bosh.tv

1 COMMENT

  1. Thank you for a Vegan recipe! I will make and replace the Cashews with Ground almond as it is faster and better priced :/

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