I once wrote a book entitled "Voyaging on a Small Income" and the parts about provisioning and cooking proved very popular. "The Voyaging Vegetarian" would have followed, but so few people were then vegetarians that I thought no-one would publish it. Now many more people realise that eating dead animals is unkind and bad for the planet. I hope a blog, which I can update with new recipes, will work better than a book for liveaboards and aspiring voyagers, and those living simply in small spaces.
Back in the 80s, I wrote a book called "Voyaging on a Small Income", which was published and sold astonishingly well. It’s become almost a “classic” and is probably why you’ve found this site!
I’ve been living aboard and sailing since the 70s. Nine different boats have been home, sometimes for several months, sometimes for many years. I love the way of life, the small footprint and being close to Nature. I’m a great fan of junk rig and having extensive experience with both gaff and bermudian rig, I wouldn’t have any other sail on my boat. It’s ideal as a voyaging rig, but also perfect for the coastal sailing that I now do. I’d rather stay in New Zealand, not having to keep saying goodbye to friends, than go voyaging, these days.
Between 2015 and 2021, I built the 26ft "FanShi", the boat I now call home. For the last 45 years or so, my diet of choice has been vegetarian and is now almost vegan. I love cooking and particularly enjoy having only myself to please. I am combining all these interests (apart, perhaps, from junk rig!) in this blog. I hope you enjoy it. I also have other blogs: www.anniehill.blogspot.com and http://fanshiwanderingandwondering.wordpress.com
The
basic recipe is one of Rose Elliot’s, somewhat altered to suit the
realities of the sailing life. Spinach is a great and versatile
vegetable, when you can get hold of it. Its close relatives, such as
Swiss chard or curly kale, can nearly always be substituted for the Real Thing.
Sometimes the stalks are a bit tough – the easiest way to test this
is to bite a piece off and see how stringy it is when raw. If they
seem too much of a good thing, cut them out and just use the leaves.
Not infrequently, spinach is sold in large packs and unless you
happen to be somewhere cool, it will not keep for more than two or
three days. This soup is a good way to finish off spinach, because
as with most soups, more or less of one ingredient does not ruin the
overall dish.
Use
1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the
salt.
Serves
2 as a main meal, 4 – 6 as a starter
Ingredients
1 tbsp
butter OR olive oil
1
large potato, peeled and chopped
1
onion, chopped
2
garlic cloves, chopped
A
bunch of spinach – about 450 g (1 lb)
4 cups
of water
1 tbsp
lime or lemon juice
salt
and pepper
nutmeg
Method:
Peel
and chop the potato; chop the onion and garlic.
Heat
the butter or oil in a large pan and add the potato and onion. Cook
for about 5 minutes, but don’t let them brown.
Meanwhile,
coarsely chop the spinach. Throw this into the pan and turn it with
the other vegetables. Pour in the water and bring to the boil.
Reduce
the heat until the mixture is just simmering; cover and cook for 15
– 20 minutes.
Take
out a piece of potato and check that it’s thoroughly cooked. If
it’s of a floury type, it should be crumbling away.
When
the potato is thoroughly softened, mash the soup with a potato
masher , until it’s thickened. You will be left with bits of onion
and spinach floating around, but that’s all right. If you prefer use a stick blender to purée the soup.
Season
carefully with salt and pepper; add a very generous grating of
nutmeg and stir in the lime juice before serving.
Variations:
This
soup’s character can be completely transformed by adding a 400 g
/14 oz tin of tomatoes, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp
coriander.
If
potatoes are unavailable, a sweetpotato could be
substituted.
Instead
of a potato, use one or two plantains and stir in a tbsp of
curry powder/paste.
Use canned spinach.
Try
serving with a dollop ofyoghurt – especially if you’ve
made the elegant, liquidised version
I
created this soup in Greenland, where I used dried vegetables rather
than the fresh shown in the following recipe. It was a lovely soup
with dried; it’s wonderful with fresh. Should you be in my
predicament, I give the dried vegetable version below. The resulting
soup is thick and rich: ideal for a main course in cold weather.
There
are more cans included than I would normally use, but the baked beans
are an essential ingredient because their tomato sauce gives a
flavour that is otherwise hard to obtain, while sweetcorn adds extra
flavour and texture. The recipe makes loads – probably enough for
four people, but like most soup, it only improves with keeping, and
in the conditions in which you’d be eating it, there’d by no
problems about its going off.
I've tagged this as gluten free - but some makes of baked beans might have flour in them. Check the label.
Use
1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the
salt.
Ingredients
1
leek
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 potato
1 turnip
3 carrots
1/4 cup gram
flour
6 cups water OR stock
1 tsp sage
2 tsp parsley
6 juniper berries,
crushed
1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
2 tsp seasoned salt
200 ml/7
oz can sweetcorn
400 g/14 oz can baked beans
170 ml/6 oz can cream
Method:
Wash
the leek carefully, slitting down the sides of it to ensure
that all the grit and soil are removed.
Heat
the olive oil in a pressure cooker or large saucepan, over a
low heat.
Dice
the leek, onion, potato, turnip and carrots
and put them into the pan. Fry gently for five minutes until the
vegetables are softened and well coated with oil.
Stir
in the gramflour, mixing well to remove most of the
lumps.
Pour
in the water, turn up the heat and bring to the boil.
Add
the sage, parsley, juniper berries and
cracked pepper and seasoned salt.
If
you’re using the pressure cooker, bring to pressure and cook for 8
minutes. Otherwise, turn the heat right down and simmer as gently as
you can for 45 minutes.
Add
the cans of sweetcorn and bakedbeans and bring
back to boiling point. Simmer for a further 5 minutes or so.
Gently
stir in the cream, mixing thoroughly. Heat until almost boiling and
then serve with warm bread.
Variations:
For
the Greenland
version, use 1/4 cup of dried
onions and 1 cup of mixed
dried vegetables instead
of the fresh vegetables. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over the onions
and leave them to soak for 30 minutes before adding them to the soup.
Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the other vegetables and leave them for the
same time.
Extra
zing can be added with a tbsp of WorcestershireSauce,
if you use this.
If you
don’t have any cream, mix ½ cup dried milk with ½
cup lukewarm water and add this to the soup.
Wafer
thin slices of toast go well with many dips and pâtés. In fact,
this recipe isn’t pukka Melba toast, but works well.
Serves 4
10
very thin slices of bread
Method:
Put
the toaster over a medium flame and cook individual pieces of bread
until they are crisp. You will almost certainly need to use tongs
for this, because they get very hot.
or
Preheat
the oven to Moderate. Spread
as much bread as you can fit, onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
Put this in the oven and after 2 or 3 minutes, turn the bread over.
Watch it carefully during the next few minutes to make sure it
doesn’t burn and take it out as soon as it’s crisp. It may tend
to curl up, but this doesn’t really matter.
Variation:
After
greasing the sheet, rub a cut garlic clove over it. Repeat between
batches, if needs be.
This
is a delicious Middle-eastern creation, which I love. The aubergine
and sesame seeds seem to be made for each other. Interestingly, both
these foods are among the first crops ever to have been cultivated.
Occasionally,
you can find jars of aubergine in brine and if you drain it well, it
can be used for this pâté if fresh ones are unobtainable.
Serves 4 for a starter
1 medium aubergine
2
tbsp tahini
1
tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried, minced garlic
salt
and pepper
olive
oil
sesame
seeds
Method:
Chop
off the stalk and cook the aubergine. The quickest way to cook it is
on your toaster, but if you have an oven, you can put it in that for
20 minutes or so. If you have neither oven nor toaster, put it in a
dry frying pan over a low heat turning it occasionally.
When it’s
completely cooked, you should easily be able to stick a toothpick
into it. Don’t be impatient – the recipe won’t work if the
aubergine is underdone and it doesn't matter if the skin chars a
little – just scrape that bit off: it adds a delicious, smoky
flavour.
Let the aubergine cool and then dice it very finely, using a
large knife. Scrape it into a mixing bowl.
Add the tahini, lemon
juice and garlic. Blend all the ingredients together with a
broad-bladed knife or a fork. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer
the pâté to a suitably-sized serving dish and smooth it down.
Drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Leave
it for a few hours before eating, so that all the flavours can
combine.
I
may have mentioned that aubergines are one of my favourite vegetables
and this recipe makes the most of their unique flavour. Russian in
origin, it’s usually popular, although very conservative eaters
find its taste and texture too unusual for comfort. The secret of
success is to ensure that the aubergine skin is thoroughly charred –
this is what gives it its distinctive, smokey taste.
Serves 4 as a starter
1
medium aubergine – about 250 g (8 oz)
1/2
tsp dried, minced garlic
2
tbsp olive oil
1
tsp lemon juice
salt
and pepper
Method:
Char
the aubergine over a hot flame. The easiest way to do this is on
your toaster, if you have one, using kitchen tongs to reposition it
until all the skin is blistered and black. Lacking a toaster, you
can hold it in your tongs or on the end of a fork or put it under the
grill. At the end, the aubergine should be cooked through. If it
isn’t (test with a toothpick) lower the heat and cook it a little
longer
Once it’s ready, cut the aubergine in half and carefully
scrape the flesh away from the skin (which you don’t use), put it
into a bowl and mix it to a purée with a broad-bladed knife or
fork.
Now add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and blend
thoroughly.
Scrape into a crockery bowl and serve when it’s
thoroughly cooled.
This
always seems to go down well because most people love both avocados
and garlic. I use dried, minced garlic here, rather than chopping
or crushing fresh cloves. It permeates the pâté better and even
garlic addicts don’t always enjoy crunching on a piece of raw
garlic.
Serves 4 for a starter
1 ripe avocado
at
least 1/2 tsp dried minced garlic
thick
yoghurt
salt
and pepper
Method:
Cut the avocado in half and scoop out the flesh.
Add the garlic and mix well,
mashing the avocado.
Now add the yoghurt: it’s hard to say how
much, because it all depends on the size of your avocado – and its
stone! However, you want to add sufficient to make a good, thick
paste.
Season with plenty of salt and pepper. Taste and add more
garlic if you think it can take it.
Serve
with bread or crackers.
Variations:
Add some chilli
flakes or hot sauce for a bit of zing
Use mayonnaise instead
of yoghurt
Cheat and buy some ready-made aïolito
mix with the avocado!
It
seems that nearly everyone likes avocados and this is always a
popular way of serving them. Generally, you see guacamole presented
as a smooth, green paste, but I prefer to mash the avocado and dice the
other ingredients. I rather like its appearance when it’s made
this way.
Serves 4 for a starter
1
ripe avocado pear
1
small onion
1
tomato
1
tbsp lime juice
1/4
– 1/2 tsp hot sauce
salt and pepper
Method:
Cut
the avocado in two and remove the stone. This can be messy with a
very ripe pear and if it won’t drop out, I find the best way is to
cut across the stone with a sharp knife and twist it out.
Using a
teaspoon, scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Dice and then mash with a
fork.
Finely dice the onion and add it to the bowl.
Dice the tomato –
you can peel it if you want to, but if you cut it up small enough, you
won’t notice the skin.
Add the lime juice and mix thoroughly. Now
start adding the hot sauce until you get it as spicy as you want. Add the salt and pepper to taste.
Serve as a dip or with crackers.
Variations:
Lemon
juice can be substituted for lime.
Instead of using hot sauce,
de-seed and chop up a fresh chilli pepper, or use some dried
chilli flakes.
It still tastes good even if you don’t have
tomatoes.
This
is another recipe capable of many variations. If you make it a
little thinner, it becomes a lovely dip, excellent with raw
vegetables. It can be made with any cheese that has a full flavour,
but would be very bland made with something like mozzarella. You do
need a fine grater for the cheese to blend properly.
Serves 4 as a starter
1
cup finely grated cheese
2
tbsp yoghurt
salt and pepper
Method:
Grate
the cheese into a bowl. Mix in the yoghurt and season with
black pepper.
Taste the pâté and add salt if you think it needs it.
Variations:
Use
soft butter or mayonnaise instead of the yoghurt.
Add 2
tbsp Dijon mustard to the pâté.
Add 1/4 cup wine to
make a dip; reduce the amount of yoghurt if you want it to stay as a
pâté.
I’ve
adapted this recipe from one of Rose Elliot’s creations. Most
people are pleasantly surprised at the flavour and after a tentative
spoonful, come back greedily for more. In fact, I like it so much
that I usually make double the amount in the hope of having some left
over the next day. All too often, I don’t!
Serves4
1/2
cup whole lentils
1
cup water
4
button mushrooms
2
garlic cloves
2
tbsp butter OR olive oil
1
tsp green peppercorns
1/2
tsp tarragon
1/4
tsp dill or fennel seed
1
tbsp lemon juice
salt
parsley
Method:
Cook
the lentils for 12 minutes in the pressure cooker and allow the
pressure to reduce naturally. Beat them vigorously with a cook’s
spoon until they have become a purée.
Meanwhile melt the butter in a
small saucepan. If you have no butter, use olive oil, but the butter
gives a richer flavour.
Dice the mushrooms and garlic and cook for a
few minutes, until they’re softened.
Add these to the lentils and
mix well.
Crush the peppercorns in a mortar or with the back of a
spoon. Add to the lentil mixture, along with the herbs and lemon
juice. Mix again and add salt to taste.
Scrape into a crockery bowl,
smooth over the top and garnish with some parsley, if you have such a
thing.
Variations:
For
an elegant presentation, pour a little melted butter over the
pâté.
If you have no mushrooms, add 1/4 cup chopped or ground
walnuts, which work surprisingly well.
Use any fresh herbs
instead of the dried, if you have them.
This is truly deliciousand certainly good enough for a special occasion. It's
also inexpensive, keeps several days in a covered bowl, without
refrigeration and leftovers go well in a sandwich. They can also be
thinned with a little water, milk or wine to make a great pasta sauce.
Serves 4
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 onion, diced
3-6 cloves garlic (depending on size), minced
2
cups (200 g) mushrooms, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2
tbsp soy sauce
salt to
taste
water
as needed for blending
Method:
Toast the sunflower seeds in a frying pan, over a medium high heat
until they are golden brown. Stir frequently. Set aside.
In the same pan, heat the olive oil and then add the onion and fry
for a couple of minutes until it's starting to turn translucent.
Add the garlic, mushrooms, pepper and herbs.
Continue to fry until the mushrooms have shrunk down and their
liquid has evaporated. If the mushrooms are a bit dry, add a
splash of water (or wine) to start them off
Remove from the heat, and stir in the soy sauce.
When the seeds and
mushroom mixture have cooled down enough, combine them in a blender.
Blend whilst gradually adding a splash of water until you have a
spreadable uniform texture. Scrape down the sides as needed The
amount of water you need will vary, so start off slowly. If you have
a high speed blender, you may not need to add any.
Add salt to taste and blend once again before serving.
Variations:
Add extra
coarsely-cracked pepper
Add Dijon mustard
As with traditional liver pâté, this is quite strongly seasoned with thyme. If you're not fond of that herb, you might want to add the herbs at the end and taste as you go.
Add sherry or brandy to
deglaze the pan
Use deodorised coconut oil instead of olive oil for a richer texture.
Make ‛butter’ to
pour over the top with deodorised coconut oil, a touch of turmeric
and a pinch of salt.
While
this tastes nothing at all like cheese, it is a very pleasant spread,
with a similar consistency to soft cheese. The lemon juice gives a hint
of sourness, which might possibly remind the more imaginative of
goats' cheese. If you can make it well in advance,
so much the better: it will let the flavours combine all the more. As
you are unlikely to have fresh herbs, don't be mean with the flavourings .
1 1/2
tsp chives or other fresh herbs, finely chopped
1/2
tbsp reserved soaking water
Method:
Soak sunflower seeds/peanuts in water overnight or simmer them for
10 minutes. Then drain and reserve the water.
Put about half the chives aside, and then put the seeds, yeast, lemon juice, garlic, garlic powder, Annie's Mixed Herbs and salt in a blender. Blend until the cheese comes together,
achieving uniform consistency.
If all the
ingredients get stuck to the side of the blender, which they probably will, scrape down the sides as often as necessary, adding a little more water, if required.
Taste critically
and adjust the seasoning. You may want to add more garlic, herbs or lemon
juice.
Shape the cheese on a
plate by hand, or simply serve in a bowl or on a plate, topped with
the extra fresh chives.
The flavours of this
vegan cheese develop and combine together, so it’s worth not eating
it all up at once! It seems to keep quite well for several days,
loosely covered.
Variations:
Substitute, or add onion powder for the garlic powder.
Use different nuts or seeds.
Add smoked paprika.
Add chilli flakes
Add some chopped peppadew peppers after blending.
Add chopped capers after blending.
Mix in some pesto once the mixture is blended.
Form the cheese into a log and roll in eitherAnnie's Mixed Herbs or cracked black pepper.
In
much of southern Spain, you can buy long, thin peppers, which look like
an overgrown chilli. In fact they are ‘sweet’ and the locals
tend to cook them on a plancha, which is essentially a sheet
of well-seasoned steel, that's placed at one end of the barbecue.
Hot coals are swept under it and the metal gets extremely hot. When
the peppers are cooked like this, the skins char and the core and
seeds cook to a delectable softness and do in fact, taste positively
sweet. They’re unbelievably good with lots of coarse salt ground
over them. Occasionally, one of the peppers is spicy hot, which causes
much amusement, when the greedy diner has bitten a huge chunk off the
end. Lacking a large barbecue and plancha, I suggest cooking
them in a more mundane frying pan. They
are sublime as a starter, because you just have the peppers alone and
can really appreicate the flavours. The long, thing ones (sometimes
sold as Romano) are full of scalding hot juice - be careful! - which is totally delicious and can
be mopped up with bread.
Although
they’re common in both Spain and South America, these slender
peppers are not easy to find elsewhere. However, ordinary peppers
make a good second best, although the seeds don’t cook the same way
and aren't usually worth eating. You can also find miniature peppers which
taste equally appetising when cooked this way - seeds and all.
Roast
peppers have become very popular recently, and many people cook them
over the barbecue. Nothing, however, quite matches the searing heat
of a hot plancha or frying pan.
Serves 4 as a starter
12
Spanish peppers or 4 peppers
olive
oil
coarse
sea salt
Method:
Wipe the peppers. If using ordinary perppers, quarter them and remove the seeds.
Heat the oil to smoking hot in a
heavy frying pan. Put in the (pieces of) pepper(s) and toss them in
the oil. If you think you're going to overload the pan, cook them
in batches.
Using tongs, keep them moving so that most of the skin
gets burnt and almost blackened. The inside should soften at the same
time.
Remove the cooked peppers and keep hot. Add more to the pan
(with extra oil, if necessary) and repeat the process until such time
as all the peppers are cooked.
If you’ve nowhere to keep them hot,
chuck them all back into the pan, after the last ones are cooked, so
that they’re reheated.
Serve with plenty of salt and some fresh bread to mop up the oil and juices.
If
you can get the really big tomatoes sometimes (incomprehensibly)
known as ‘beef’ tomatoes’, they make a gorgeous starter when
stuffed with a savoury filling. There are, of course, countless ways
of making these, but I will give one example and a couple of
variations. Experiment as you wish.
I
use bulgur wheat rather than breadcrumbs, for making
the stuffing, but either gives excellent results.
Serves 2
2
tbsp bulgur wheat
1/4
cup boiling water
2
large tomatoes
1
small onion
2
garlic cloves
2
tbsp olive oil
1/4
tsp basil
1/4
tsp thyme
salt
and pepper
Method:
Put
the bulgur wheat into a small bowl and pour the boiling water over
it.
Cut a thin slice off the top of each tomato and put to one
side.
Scoop out the insides with a teaspoon. You won’t need these
for this recipe, but will undoubtedly find a use for them. (If
you’re worried about it going mouldy, heat to boiling with a little
hot water and put in a vacuum flask until you can use it the
following day.)
Put a little salt on the insides of the tomatoes to
draw out excess juice. Turn them upside down to drain.
Dice the
onion and garlic and fry them in the oil until golden.
When the
bulgur wheat is softened, add the onion/garlic and the basil and thyme and
season with salt and pepper. Be generous with the pepper.
Place the
tomatoes in the pressure cooker’s vegetable separator and put half
the stuffing in each. Cover each tomato with its top.
Put the trivet
in the pressure cooker together with 1/2 cup water. Put the stuffed
tomatoes on top. Bring up to pressure. Cook for 1 minute and allow
the pressure to reduce naturally.
Carefully lift out the tomatoes and
serve hot.
Variations:
Add
2 tbsp pine nuts to the filling, to make them even more
special.
Serve with rice (and wild rice) for a main
course.
Leave out the onion and the herbs and mix in 1/2 cup grated
cheese with the bulgur wheat.
Use 1/4 tsp dried, minced
garlic with the bulgur rather than frying the garlic.
This
sounds like veganism gone to extremes, but is actually
extraordinarily good!
Serves
2
Skins
from two bananas
1
tsp smoked paprika
1
tsp soy sauce
Take
the banana skins and cut off the stalk and the base. Scrape the
white ‛pith’ off the skins so that they are almost translucent. Cut them into strips along the ridges.
In
a wide bowl, or on a dished plate, lay out the skins. Spoon equal
amount of smoked paprika and soy sauce over the skins mixing and
turning until the skins are completely covered with the mixture.
Add more if necessary.
Leave
the skins to marinade for a quarter of an hour or so.
Add
olive oil to a frying pan. Scrape in the skins with any leftover
marinade and fry over a fairly high heat, turning them as necessary
until they are nicely browned on both sides and turning crisp.
Add
to a traditional ‛English Breakfast’, or use in Bacon
Sandwiches.
These
are so delicious, that I often cook extra potatoes the night before
so that I can have them for breakfast next day.
Ingredients
Cold
boiled potatoes
1
tbsp olive oil
salt
and pepper or Annie's Seasoned Salt
Method:
Cut
the potatoes into chunky pieces, while heating the oil in a frying
pan.
Ensuring
that the oil is hot, put the pieces of potato into the pan.
Although it’s a bit fiddly to do them one at a time, it actually
makes sense, because all the pieces are in contact with the oil and
can be turned over to brown the next face.
By
the time you’ve put every piece in the pan, you can start turning
the ones that were put in first. Ideally, they fry brown and crisp.
Grind salt and pepper over them while they’re cooking.
When
they’re all heated through and crisp, serve with fried or boiled
eggs, a fried tomato – or just one their own!
Perhaps
this isn’t exactly a basic recipe, but it’s a lovely one
to have in your repertoire. Typically, it’s served with fresh fish
such as salmon, but it also goes superbly with fresh asparagus, which
is anyway such a luxury, that it deserves the best of treatment.
It’s also very popular poured over poached eggs on toast.
If
you’re unacquainted with this sauce, the best way to describe it’s
like hot mayonnaise, but somehow, even richer. I haven’t tried
making a vegan version of this.
Serves 2
1½
tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water
1 egg
50 g (2 oz)/4 tbsp butter
Method:
Boil
water in a small saucepan and then take it off the stove.
Find
a bowl that will sit comfortably over the pan, but not so deeply as
to displace the hot water.
Put
the lemon juice, water,salt and pepper in the bowl.
Beat
in the egg, with a wire whisk and then add a quarter of the butter.
Continue whisking until the butter has melted. By now the sauce
should be starting to thicken.
Add
the rest of the butter a quarter at a time, whisking all the time.
Taste.
Add a little more lemon juice if you like.
The
sauce should be served immediately, but it will keep warm if you
leave the bowl over the hot water.
If you
find that the water has cooled down too quickly, you can put it back
over a very low flame on a flame tamer. The water must not boil
because it will then effectively scramble the egg, which will ruin
the sauce.
For many years, I lived with a man who detested cheese and because money was in short supply, I hardly ever bought this treat for myself. I missed it, but its lack was tolerable, although I really enjoyed eating it when I had a chance. Then I lived with someone who loved cheese and, moreover, we had a little more money, so we generally had it on board.
When I decided to live on my own in New Zealand, I could finally eat exactly how I wanted to. However, my budget was again pretty limited and I found that New Zealand, in spite of being awash in dairy cows, has no tradition of its own cheese. Most of the affordable cheese made here, is a pastiche of Camembert or Brie, of Gouda and Edam and of course, the ubiquitous so-called Cheddar. I had hoped for so much more, remembering the open markets of my English youth, where I could buy several different versions of my local cheese. While there is some superb artisan cheese in this country, not only is most of it beyond my financial means, but most of it is beyond my physical means, only being sold in the major cities. Over recent years, the plight of dairy cattle (particularly calves) and of the planet overall, has inexorably inched me towards veganism. However, I still succumbed to the lure of Parmesan or Pecorino cheese. It was a very happy day, therefore, that I stumbled across a vegan alternative on the Internet.
Not only is vegan "Parmesan" a genuinely acceptable alternative to the real thing, it even emulates it sufficiently accurately, that friends have tipped generous amounts of the food I've served them, without even noticing that it's not the 'real thing'. Often what you taste is what you expect!
Many people use cashew nuts: I prefer Brazil nuts. (In this blog I am not generally going to discuss the various ethical pros and cons of one nut/grain/legume over another. Suffice it to say that the worst of them is probably less unethical than most animal products.) You will need a blender or good mouli-grinder to make this.
Brazil nuts are one of those that tend to go stale quite quickly - like walnuts - so I have assumed that the 'cheese' would also lose its flavour and freshness quickly. I therefore limit its production to 1/4 cup at a time. The recipe is so simple that it's extremely easy to make larger quantities. However, I do find that a small jar will keep happily for at least two or three weeks without refrigeration, which is another of its great virtues.
1/4 cup Brazil nuts
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
Method:
Roughly chop the Brazil nuts into about 1cm pieces
Put the chopped nuts, the nutritional yeastand the salt into your blender or mouli and process until you get the consistency of finely grated cheese.
Serve over pasta, etc, as you would Parmesan cheese.