Vegan Parmesan (the real stuff is not even vegetarian)
This super-simple recipe for vegan Parmesan (Full of Plants) only has 5 ingredients. French chef Thomas has gone out of his way to make this recipe as simple as possible, so anyone can indulge! That’s because for now, the storebought versions are not that great, though in a pinch you can grate any vegan cheese over a dish. But this one has the authentic taste!
All you need are:
- Raw cashews
- Nutritional yeast (a cheesy tasting powder widely found in shops)
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Find sea salt
Keep this away from pets due to nuts, onion and garlic.
It’s important to use a food processor to make this recipe, otherwise a blender could be too powerful and make ‘Parmesan butter!’
Once made, just store in a glass jar. Not just for pasta, vegan Parmesan is also good to sprinkle over soup, salad, risotto and roasted veggies.
A little enlightenment on Parmesan cheese
It’s not widely reported. But Parmesan contains a cheese that (by law in Italy) contains calf rennet. So it’s not vegetarian, something that many restaurants (and even authors who write veggie recipes) appear not to know sometimes. Some pubs offer Parmesan dishes as ‘the vegetarian option’.
And vegetarians order them, not knowing that they are eating the inside of a calf’s stomach. Same with pesto (this is made with Parmesan). So go for versions in the free-from aisle, if not making your own.
Some organisations want this information to be more advertised. So that people who don’t want to eat calf rennet are more aware. Same with other non-vegetarian cheeses like gorgonzola and roquefort.
