Saturday, March 9, 2013

5 Minute 3 Ingredient Vegan "Parmesan"

That's right -- you are 5 minutes and 3 ingredients away from vegan "Parmesan"! This isn't like the soy-based vegan parm that you can buy (like Galaxy Foods) which melts a bit and tastes almost exactly like the dairy version. It is totally different but totally delicious! I just call it parm because I use it in the same way: sprinkled on pasta or veggies; it even works really well as a breading in some recipes (sorry, not posted yet!). This vegan parmesan happens to be not only dairy free but also soy free and gluten free, plus it is made with walnuts (which have omegas) and nutritional yeast (which has b12 and other vitamins).




2 cups shelled walnuts, halves or pieces
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients in your food processor and pulse until the walnuts are in small bits; you should be able to sprinkle the parm like crumbs. Check frequently to avoid turning it into a sort of nut butter. Yields about 2 1/8 to 2 1/4 cups. Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator.



*** NOTES ***

If you happen to buy the Nutritional Yeast that comes in a shake-top container (like Red Star), saving the containers to use with this works really well!

It is best to sprinkle this parm on top of food when you are ready to serve/eat it rather than putting it on before cooking or reheating food; it won't melt but the nutritional yeast will get kind of mushy if it sits on something moist.

* Loosely adapted from a recipe in The Starch Solution by John and Mary McDougall

2 comments:

  1. Yum! We've been making our own Parm for years. It's delicious on top of popcorn and pasta alike.

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  2. I just made a cheezy sauce for pasta. I also use this sauce for rice.

    Only 4 ingredients and no cooking:

    1 large ripe avocado well mashed
    A few tablespoons of water
    3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (slightly heaping)
    Salt (not sure how much I use, I grind it on the avocado, maybe a 1/4 tsp?)

    Mash avocado (add salt before or after mashing) and thin with the water, folding the water into the mashed avocado until it is well mixed.

    Add nutritional yeast and fold in very well.

    Thin with more water until the mixture is fluffy and creamy, not stiff and pasty.

    Spread over 1lb of cooked and drained pasta and toss carefully until the mixture is well distributed.

    We usually also fold in finely chopped cilantro or Italian parsley and sometimes even add a few sprigs of finely chopped fresh basil.

    To garnish; top with finely chopped tomatoes, black olives, green onions, etc.
    Serve warm.

    It's a great accompaniment to vegan franks.

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