Rosemary Honey Macadamia Cheese with Figs and a Balsamic Reduction
When fresh figs make an appearance at the market, my heart skips a beat. I love everything about them. Their beautiful shape and the deep colors remind me of a renaissance painting. The soft, pink fruit is delicately sweet. The texture starts with firm flesh that yields to the juicy interior intermingled with crunchy seeds. Truly a chef’s dream, their flavor really shines when paired with other ingredients that they in turn enhance.
Figs are high in potassium which protects your heart and high in fiber. They help protect your eyes from macular degeneration and protect your bones with a healthy serving of calcium. They are not just beautiful, they are smart, too!
This raw food recipe has it all. A rosemary honey macadamia cheese (no dehydrator needed) spiked with shallots is topped with a balsamic reduction that is easily done in the dehydrator. Rosemary almond pepper crackers provide the base for the cheese and the star … figs.
By combining and layering the flavors, you get a delicious, gourmet treat that takes surprisingly little time to prepare! A little advanced planning and you have a delightful treat for even the fussiest foodies. An alternative way to serve would be to slice the figs and top with the “cheese”. Don’t be intimidated by the directions. Actual time that you are touching food is very small. Read through the directions first and you will see!
Look for the cracker recipe on Wednesday!
Rosemary Honey Macadamia Cheese with Figs and a Balsamic Reduction
Rosemary Honey Macadamia Cheese
- 1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked overnight
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 large probiotic capsules (or one teaspoon probiotic powder)
- 1/2 lemon, juice from
- 2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped fine and divided in half
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
- 2 tablespoons honey (not vegan….you can substitute agave nectar)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- Himalayan salt and cracked pepper to taste
- Place soaked macadamia nuts and water in high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Stir in probiotic powder and lemon juice.
- Line sieve with cheesecloth. Pour in nut mixture, fold cheesecloth over the top and set on a plate.
- Leave out to culture for 24 hours.
- Transfer to bowl and stir in half the rosemary, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast. Remove 1/2 cup and set the rest aside.
- To the 1/2 cup, stir in the remaining rosemary, honey and shallot. Mix well.
- In a 3 1/2-inch baker’s ring, layer 2/3 of the main mixture, the shallot mixture, then the remaining 1/3 of the main mixture. I use this ring: HIC Stainless Steel Food Ring, 3-1/2-Inch
Place in refrigerator to set for a few hours.
Balsamic Reduction
- 1 cup good quality, aged raw balsamic vinegar (most balsamic is not raw…check your sources)
- 1 tablespoon honey (not vegan, you can substitute agave nectar)
- Place one cup of the balsamic vinegar in a shallow glass dish in the dehydrator. Dehydrate at 115 degrees overnight or until reduced to 1/3 cup.
- Stir in honey.
Assembly
- Fresh Figs, quartered
- “Cheese”
- Rosemary Almond Crackers (recipe will be posted later this week)
- Balsamic Reduction
- Spread “cheese” on crackers, top with fig and a drizzle of Balsamic Reduction.
Margaret wrote on August 13, 2015
Where do you get raw balsamic vinegar???? I have been raw vegan for three months now and thought I could no longer have balsamic vinegar! (Which broke my heart!) I’m excited now to find a raw balsamic vinegar! Thanks for your recipes!!
Angelina wrote on February 19, 2015
can you substitute cashews for macadamias?