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.
cj healey wrote on March 24, 2013
instead of using probiotic powder and lemon juice, could you use home made rujuvelac?
can you provide a link to the type of probiotic powder you use?
many thanks.
Susan wrote on March 24, 2013
Hi, CJ, I don’t use any specific probiotic powder. You could use rejuvelac but I can’t tell you a specific substitution. You are substituting a dry powder with a wet liquid so it throws off the ingredients. This is a recipe I have done with rejuvelac: https://www.rawmazing.com/raw-vegan-cheese/
Ashley wrote on March 16, 2013
Why do you dehydrate the balsamic vinegar?
Susan wrote on March 16, 2013
Ashley, to get the reduction. It gets nice and thick. Cheers!
Jenny wrote on February 21, 2013
Great recipe! Love the fig and rosemary together. I did the balsamic reduction with a strawberry blasamic vin. Totally fabulous! Thx fit the ideas!
Ashley wrote on February 3, 2013
Can you freeze this? I make raw cheesecake and desserts and they freeze well. Just wondered if this would hold up well? The shallots make me question it.
Susan wrote on February 3, 2013
I have not tried freezing this recipe. 🙂
Wparker wrote on August 14, 2012
Ah! My printer left that out! Shucks…what will happen if I don’t have the lemon juice in it before it “cultures”?
Susan wrote on August 15, 2012
It is for flavor so you should be fine. I would still add it in. Cheers!
Wparker wrote on August 13, 2012
This ingredient list shows lemon juice but don’t see it in the directions? Where does it go in? Thanks!
Susan wrote on August 13, 2012
It is listed in step 1. Right at the end. “1. Place soaked macadamia nuts and water in high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Stir in probiotic powder and lemon juice.”
Judee @ Gluten Free A-Z wrote on August 12, 2012
I am a first time visitor to your blog and am blown away with the fabulous looking recipes and photos! I am a long time vegetarian trying to become vegan. Can’t wait to try this recipe and many others.
claire wrote on August 11, 2012
your recipes look so beautiful–and your photograpy and styling is just great. I’m trying out some recipes now. Wondering about how long this one lasts in the fridge. I’m doing a cleanse right now and then planning on going raw, so I’m making some foods so that I can be a little ahead of the game. Mostly, I’m making crackers and chips but I’m anxious to try this! Also, what do the probiotics change the consistancy? What do they do to the “cheese”? thanks!
Julie wrote on August 3, 2012
This is wonderful! I just had to try this recipe when I saw it. I had something similar a few years back and loved it, only it was not vegan. Part of the reason Ive become so unhealthy is my bad snacking habits over the past few years. This is a perfect answer for me, and I was satified after three servings. The taste of the crackers was the perfect compliment to the cheese, and the balsamic vinegar was the perfect finishing touch. This is a keeper, I’ll definately make this again!