Walnut (or Cashew) Cheese!

Since I've become obsessed with Google Reader and recently discovered the nifty "Suggestions" area, I've found a few new foodie blogs. One of them - Maybe Local Vegan? - constantly extolled their love for Cashew Cheese. It's not really cheese - more of a cross between pesto and mole sauce - but it's pretty damn good.

As an experiment - and because I didn't think plain old tomato sauce would go - I made some Walnut Cheese (half a batch) to go with my Trader Joe's Walnut Gorgonzola Ravioli.

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups walnuts (or really any nuts would work I think)
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tblsp of lemon
1 tsp of sea salt
1/2 cup of water

Then blend until it's a paste.

My only beef is that it was a bit too salty for me. The next time I make it I think I'll use half the salt. What I really love about it, though, is that it isn't too thick so it's perfect for a sauce and since we always have nuts around, it's an easy, healthy, protein-filled addition to any meal.

I have a cashew crusted chicken and stir-fryed veggies with cashew cheese meal idea in my head ...