Coconut Pistachio Cashew Cheese Panini with Cranberry Reduction
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 sandwiches
 
Ingredients
  • For Cashew Cheese:
  • 2 cups of cashews
  • 1 cup coconut milk (from can)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbs nutritional yeast
  • 1 cloves of garlic
  • ⅓ cup coarsely chopped pistachios
  • 2 tbs unsweetened coconut flakes
  • For cranberry sauce:
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup orange juice (fresh or from carton)
  • For Coconut Aioli:
  • 3 tbs vegan mayonnaise
  • 1-2 tbs coconut milk (can use leftover from can)
  • For Rest of Sandwich:
  • 4 Bread slices-I recommend using your favorite, seeded bread
  • 1 cup fresh spinach
Instructions
  1. Start by adding your 2 cups cashews to a small-medium bowl and covering them with 1 cup of coconut milk (or enough to just cover the cashews). Allow to sit for 8 hours or overnight.
  2. Once cashews are soaked, drain any excess milk (mine did not have any).
  3. Blend cashews along with garlic, salt and nutritional yeast in a vitamix, you will need to scrape the sides down to keep the process going. Add just enough water so that the cashews will mix, but use as little as possible.
  4. Scrape cashew mixture onto several layers of cheese cloth. Wrap cheesecloth around cashew mixture so that it forms a ball. Place ball in fridge suspended over a bowl, or in my case, I place a paper towel in a bowl and place the balled cheese cloth on top. I checked the cheese ball often to make sure the paper towel did not need changed out. The point of this step is to remove as much moisture as possible. Allow cheese ball to sit for 8 hours.
  5. After cheese ball has sat, remove ball from fridge. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  6. Remove cheesecloth. If process is correct, cheese cloth should come off fairly easily. If too much moisture, this will not be the case. Do not despair. If so, you can still use it and even follow the rest of this recipe the same way, you will just have to scrape cheese mixture off of the cloth.
  7. Regardless of your texture, place cheese ball/mixture in an oven safe dish. If you have a firm cheese ball, coat the ball with the chopped pistachios and coconut flakes. If your mixture turned out too creamy, just swirl the pistachios and coconut flakes into the cheese.
  8. Place dish in oven for 30 minutes.
  9. While cheese is cooking, place a small sauce pan on stove on medium heat.
  10. Add cranberries and orange juice, bring to a simmer. Cook on simmer for 5-8 minutes, or until cranberries are reconstituted and orange juice is fully absorbed.
  11. Place ¾ of your reconstituted cranberries in blender, mix until smooth.
  12. Add pureed cranberries to remaining, whole cranberries. Put in a dish and set aside.
  13. Combine ingredients for coconut aioli in a small dish, stir and set aside.
  14. Once cashew cheese and cranberry sauce is complete, it is time to make your sandwich.
  15. Turn your panini press or grill on (your can also do this step on a stove top in a standard grilled cheese style.
  16. Create sandwich in this manner: bread< 1 tbs coconut aioli, ½ c spinach<1/4 cup cashew cheese<1-2 tbs cranberry sauce
  17. Place sandwich on panini press and toast for about 4 minutes or until bread is desired texture. Slice in half and serve immediately.
  18. you can use leftovers to make a few more sandwiches later too!
Recipe by Peppers and Peaches at https://www.peppersandpeaches.com/coconut-pistachio-cashew-cheese-panini-with-cranberry-jam/