I’d been thinking about caprese salad all week, so I decided to roll up my sleeves and have a go at making a macadamia based “mozzarella”. The flavour is mild and the texture is creamy and delicate – possibly a little too delicate – but I’m happy with the result nevertheless! I didn’t add any probiotics to this but if you’d like to, blending in 1/2 a teaspoon of dairy-free probiotic powder will be plenty.
Caprese Salad for 1
1/3 roll of Macadamia “Mozzarella” (recipe below)
1 Large Truss Tomato
Basil Leaves
2 T Balsamic Vinegar
1 t Extra Virgin Olive oil
S+P
For the Macadamia “Mozzarella”:
1 C Macadamias
3/4 C Water
3/4 t Savoury Yeast Flakes (also known as nutritional yeast)
3/4 t Lemon Juice
3/8-1/2 t Salt
- To make the “mozzarella”, soak the macadamias for 4 hours. Drain, then blend in a high speed blender with all other ingredients. I used a Blendtec on speed 6 for 50 seconds, then scraped the sides and gave it another 30 seconds just to be sure it was completely smooth.
- Place 2 layers of muslin/cheesecloth over a sieve and place the sieve over a bowl (click for picture). Wrap your “cheese” and place a weight of around 560-600g on it for 24 hours at room tempterature. I checked on mine a few times and gave it an extra little squeeze.
- When ready, tip the “cheese” into some plastic wrap and roll it into a fat log. Twist the sides up one at a time to push the mixture together and try to expel some of the air. Refrigerate for a minimum of 24 hours (the longer the better/firmer). This will last around 10 days in the fridge (longer if you’ve added probiotics). If cutting at around the 24 hour mark, I recommend placing it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to firm up, otherwise you’ll find it losing shape and sticking to your knife a lot. After a couple of days it’ll be much easier to work with.
- Pour the balsamic vinegar into a small pot on low heat. Bring to a gentle bubble and allow to reduce for 2-3 minutes. Swirl the pot frequently. Allow to cool. If you’ve reduced it too much, you can thin it out with a little water. You’ll know if you’ve burned it.
- If you’re feeling fancy, you can infuse your olive oil with basil – bash 3 leaves with the oil in a mortar & pestle, then push through a sieve to it’s smooth. Don’t sweat it if you can’t be bothered with this step – straight up olive oil will be fine!
- Assemble your salad with alternating slices of tomato & “mozarella”, tucking in lots of basil (feel free to tear it up, you don’t need to serve it exactly like I have. Splash your balsamic reduction & olive oil over the top and serve with some salt & pepper.
If you’re a raw vegan, feel free to swap out the balsamic reduction for a drizzle of coconut palm sugar syrup or agave.
