Sounds like an intriguing enough dip to try... and yummy too!

Cashews are fantastic for a vegan diet! The base to delicious "ice creams," a sauce in lasagnes, and so much more :)

This is quite a curious "cheese"! Afterall, I've always thought of using nuts in sweet spreads... Gotta try that!

I was all set to make a white bean dip for Thanksgiving but now it's got to be this one. I'm so excited.

It's worth mentioning that soaking seeds and nuts overnight aids in digestion and nutrient absorption.

You can make a lovely sweet cream with cashews as well. We call it cashew créme, and I like to soak the cashews for two days in the fridge, then blend with vanilla, agave nectar or maple syrup and sometimes cinnamon or lemon zest.

My favorite savory nut cheese is macadamia. I do the same process you used for the cashew cheese, but I just add umeboshi vinegar. It reminds me of chevre.

When I tell people that the reason I like being gluten-free is that it makes cooking and baking a challenge, they think I'm crazy. But it is! Cooking and baking is much more interesting!

Here is a piece on a vegan, vegetarian and raw foodist cafe in town. They shared their "dip" recipe, but as you observed it's more like a spread.
http://tinyurl.com/66lk6w

If people have issues or allergies with nuts, they're in trouble, especially if they're raw foodists. Tofu is cooked!

I have a friend that must avoid dairy now for health reasons. Serious health reasons. She craves cheese and I keep thinking we should do a "fake cheese" tasting. Just doesn't seem to be fun enough for either of us to motivate to do!

~ Jacqueline

Looks - and sounds - wonderful. Similar to nut spreads that are available in more and more varieties, but this recipe has more zing. Here in London we have a raw food restaurant called Saf (part of an international mini-chain), which does truly delicious raw food dishes and is very famous for its 'raw cheese' platter. I'll definitely try your recipe, thank you.

Wow! I love reading your sight even though there's hardly anything I can eat. I'm one of those on a strict, prescriptive, alternative diet (for health reasons). I can have hard cheese but I have to try this alternative to soft cheese. Thank you!

I love cashew "cheese" and often prepare a version that contains nutritional yeast and cayenne pepper. Both add a that certain creamy something to the cheese.

Have a great time at your Thanksgiving potluck. I will be bringing my cauliflower gratin, Brussels sprouts and pumpkin tart to my parent's celebration.

Hi, this is the first time I write something here.

Just a note. The cashew, although white, is not raw, because you need to roast the big, oily and acid outside to take out what we call "cashew nut".

In Brazil (where I come from) we eat the green nut, cooked and it's a lot of work to get it out of the "shell", because the oil burns the skin of our fingers.

I'd call this a cream, but it must taste good.

I'm so happy to find this recipe. You almost convinced me to try alternative butter, and I have no more excuses now to cook it!

If you think back 500 years or so to medieval France, cow's milk was rarely used plain because it spoiled too fast and couldn't be eaten on "lean" days, which were about half the calendar. They used, as a substitute, almond milk. It didn't go bad fast and could be eaten on both "fat" and "lean" days. they made many things from this "milk." My article on blanc-manger (http://xrl.us/oyd9b) goes into more detail about this.

I love RFD! I always make my LA friends take me there whenever I visit. They have delicious, inventive dishes and I always get excited to try to recreate them at home. Definitely considering buying the book.

A rather lovely-looking recipe, but what is a Thanksgiving potluck? As an anthropology student I have visions of a modified potlatch...

what a great idea! I'm a big fan of using things such as almond butter and tahini - adds good flavor while being healthier for you than some alternatives. I'll have to try this!

Non roasted cashew's? Any hints/ideas about where to buy them? In Holland, preferably - if possible?

How interesting. It is amazing what you can do with nuts. Great post.

It looks delicious: I love cashew nuts!
Are these "my" English oatcakes I see on the picture? If so, they and I feel honoured! :-)

Clotilde, I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow. I just have to tell you that your Pear and Chocolate tart from the Paris Guide Book is the perfect addition to this years Thanksgiving. The presentation is great, the flavors are seasonal, and it just tastes marvelous. Thank you for the great recipe, fun guide book and Happy Thanksgiving.

Dear Clotilde - I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I wanted to tell you that I linked your blog today, as we made your delicious Chestnut and Mushroom Soup this morning, to serve at our Thanksgiving meal tomorrow, and it rocked, so I wrote about it on my blog. Thank you! It is a great recipe, easy AND elegant. Gotta love that on a big prep day like today. Can't wait for my guests to try it...

Lori Lynn

Hi Clotilde,
I am rushing to say that this recipe is absolutely brilliant! I couldn't imagine that it would come out so good (yes, I've already made it!!)! It's unexpectedly delicious and cheesy in a good way. Thank you so much and happy Thanksgiving to you! :)

I started to read your lovely blog only during this summer (for some reason I didn't think I'd enjoy it before but I was quite wrong and I am completely charmed and addicted) and am reading each post, from the beginning (but not too many in one day as I am savoring them).

When I read about the zucchini and mushroom crumble you and your Mom made I knew that I would make that for Thanksgiving. I made it yesterday and it was wonderful! My guests tore through it and there is very little left over (which is gratifying but a bit disturbing as I was looking forward it eating those leftovers this weekend). I took a few liberties and used dried mushrooms (porcini, shiitake, cremini, and oyster) and used the soaking liquid while sautéing to add flavor and I used panko instead of regular breadcrumbs (I had them in the house). It was a most delicious dish! I also made the cumin spiced carrot fries but took a few liberties here as well and just bought whichever root and cruciferous vegetables looked interesting so I ended up with a gorgeously colorful bowl of delicious roasted in cumin-purple cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, carrots, turnips, celery root, and beets (I also made stir fried sweet potatoes with sage, toasted walnuts and walnut oil (adapted from a NY Times recipe) or I would have added sweet potatoes to the cumin vegetable mixture). All was really fabulous and very much appreciated by my guests (I did actually make a poultry main dish-turkey breast roasted with onions and cranberries and duck roasted with apples and herbs).

Thank you for the wonderful blog and the terrific recipes and I look forward to more of them as I read more of your archives (I'm up to April 2004).

I am also very much looking forward to going to the Rose Bakery and some of the other cafes/shops you mention in Paris when my husband and come to Paris for our annual shopping expeditions.

Merci.

Cashew cheese also makes an excellent base for a vegetarian pate (which is good as is, but even better en croute - that was my Thanksgiving main course yesterday). Speaking of which, I'm curious to hear about your Thanksgiving potluck!

I will give this recipe to my friend.She makes her own cashew butter.

I made cashew cheese last night, and while best described as a spread, it was a big hit. I needed about double the water suggested (1/2 cup), more salt, and used apple vinegar, which gave it the perfect Northeastern fall tang for the holidays. I can't wait to make it again. Thank you!

i gave this recipe to my mom.she made the Cashew cheese and it was very tasty... Thanks for sharing this recipe.

okay, I realise it's a bit random, but the bit about pumpkin pie got me wondering -
how do you call a pumpkin in French??
So far, I've heard/read/used the following three words without really knowing the difference, and people don't seem to be quite able to explain:
Potiron, Citrouille, and Giraumon ??
And how would you translate pumpkin pie into French?

Oooh, I must give this a try. I am dairy-free for health reasons (sadly), and cheese is one of the things I miss the most. So far, I have not found any decent substitutes for two of my favorite cheeses: brie and blue. But maybe this cashew "cheese" will ease my cheese-free pain a bit. :)

Clotilde,
have a look at this site.
although in Portuguese, this is a recipe with the really raw cashew nut. You can see the pictures ;-)

I love your site!

A better way to make this is to make cashew nut milk out of it first (delicious) and use the strained cashew nuts to make the cheese.

First, soak the nuts for 4-8 hours. Drain and rinse the nuts, put into a food processor or blender and add 3 parts cold water to 1 part nuts. Blend until liquid. Strain with a wire mesh strainer, cheese cloth, or nut bag. Keep the strained nut puree to make the cheese.

I would recommend adding nutritional yeast, acidophilus, or rejuvelac to assist in culturing the cheese.

I made raw cashew cheese a few days ago, but after reading the description of the dish and all the comments, I decided that this is more of a dip or spread than it is cheese. So I made one change that I think made the dish more interesting. I doubled the recipe and substituted white wine for water that's added after the water for soaking the raw cashews is drained off. I also was a bit heavy on the garlic and black pepper. I added about a fourth cup more water during the blending process.

A friend liked the spread and wanted the recipe, but I didn't tell him about the wine. I gave him the recipe as written above and he made it exactly to the recipe. He called me later and told me that my "cheese" turned out better.

We both had some of our raw cashew cheese left over and we compared the two with friends--everyone liked the wine recipe better. To be fair, many were drinking wine during this taste test.