Nutcellars Macadamia Nut Cheese
Macadamia nuts are said to be the most virtuous and versatile of nuts, as well as being tasty, healthy and sustainable. The ‘Queen of Nuts’ have a unique crunchy, buttery texture.
Nutcellars macadamia nuts are from smallholder farms in Malawi, the fifth largest producer of macadamia nuts in the world.
“This is such a good way of utilising the brilliant properties of the macadamia nut and nut cheese is becoming increasing popular. This makes a creamy full fat cheese filled with all the good stuff. Easy to make, fulfilling and comforting on all levels. It’s great on a cheeseboard as well as on a fresh piece of bread. This delicious, creamy macadamia nut cheese is a great add on to an alfresco picnic table or a perfect for a summary porch dinner with a glass of chilled white wine.”
Ingredients
- 280 g (approx. 2 cups)
- Nutcellars macadamia nuts
- 160 ml (5 fl oz / 2/3 cup) water
- 2 tbs lemon juice & zest
- 1 grated garlic clove
- 2 tbs of chives (chopped)
- pinch of salt
Method
Start by soaking the macadamia nuts for 2 hours by putting them in a bowl and covering with water. Or even better the night before. Drain the nuts and tip them into a blender along with the water and blitz until you get a smooth texture. If you have a small handheld blender, then blitz until smooth over several times. As this is a soft style cheese the texture can be slightly bitty, which I personally love. If you are doing this in a high-speed blender, make sure not to over heat or over blend. You want the texture to be ricotta like.
Once blended, transfer to a clean glass or plastic container. Now it is time to flavour your cheese. Add lemon juice, zest, grated garlic, chopped chives, salt and pepper to taste. and mix well. Get your metal chefs ring out or a small bowl wrapped in cling film. If you’re doing the chef’s ring then place some grease proof paper under the ring. Grease the inside of the ring with some oil and add your cheese mixture in and until the top.
You can let the cheese sit in the fridge for a few hours to set and let the flavours marry together. Once chilled, pop the chefs ring off and serve with fresh baguette French-style or some lovely homemade sourdough. The cheese will last for up to 7 days in the fridge.
