I couldn’t wait for my copy of DIY Vegan: More Than 100 Easy Recipes to Create an Awesome Plant-Based Pantry to come in the mail. Nicole Axworthy and Lisa Pitman have been dropping vegan knowledge at VegNews for years, and I’ve been making an effort to move away from palm oil products for some time now – so a DIY guidebook was just what I needed.

This book is a treasure, including a very thorough pantry section and recipes for everything from vegan cheese to Worcestershire sauce. I was particularly intrigued by the Buffalo Mozzarella recipe, which called for ingredients that I found much easier to source than a similar recipe from Artisan Vegan Cheese (which is also a must-own, in my opinion).

If you don’t already have a well-stocked vegan pantry, there are a couple things you’ll want to get in order to make this recipe, along with some other ways you can use them:

Probiotic powder – gives vegan cheese their cultured tanginess, you can also throw it in your smoothie to make you poop more because pooping is the most fun thing you can do for free besides sleeping

Nutritional yeast – a vegan staple, gives food a cheesy flavor while adding b12 to your diet and making you pee bright yellow – I’m sensing a theme here

Xanthan gum – thicken all sorts of non-dairy foods from butter to dressing to cheese

Agar flakes or powder – seaweed-based replacement for gelatin, use it in marshmallows, custards and yeah… cheese

Reprinted fromDIY Vegan. Copyright © 2015 Nicole Axworthy and Lisa Pitman. Published by St. Martin’s Griffin. All photos by Nicole Axworthy.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.

Vegan Buffalo Mozzarella

Vegan Buffalo Mozzarella

By BakeandDestroy Published: October 28, 2015

  • Yield: 4 balls

From the authors: Missing that summer salad staple, composed of stacks of sliced tomato, creamy mozzarella, and bright, bold basil leaves? The wait is over—vegan mozzarella is here. This recipe makes what seemed impossible undeniably easy. Sure, it takes some time to prepare, but think of it as a B plot: a few minutes of effort here and there in between your life’s A-plot adventures (work, sleep, play). When it’s time for the exciting culmination, your mozzarella will be ready to star in a Caprese salad, amid roasted vegetables or thinly sliced atop a classic Neapolitan pizza.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Drain and rinse the soaked cashews.
  2. In a blender, combine the cashews, probiotic powder, and 1/2 cup water and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass or ceramic bowl, cover with a clean tea towel, and set aside to ferment for 24 hours.
  3. In a blender, combine the fermented cashew mixture, nutritional yeast, xanthan gum, and salt and blend until smooth and creamy.
  4. In a small saucepan, whisk together the agar and ⅔ cup water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking often, for 10 minutes until all the agar has dissolved and the liquid begins to thicken.
  5. In a shallow medium bowl, combine the blended cashew mixture and the agar mixture. Whisk until the agar mixture is completely incorporated.
  6. Transfer the bowl to the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.
  7. Divide the cheese into quarters. Put each portion on a square piece of plastic wrap. Pull the corners of the plastic wrap together over the cheese and twist to form the cheese into a tight ball, just like the classic buffalo mozzarella shape. Return to the fridge to chill for an additional hour or two before slicing. Store any leftovers tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 1 week.

    WordPress Recipe Plugin by ReciPress