Thursday, September 10, 2015

Vegan Bleu Cheese Dip


Vegan MoFo 2015 Day 10: Something blue.

I have been on a quest to find a good vegan bleu cheese recipe for years! Several years ago, lusting after something even remotely similar to a Stilton, I tried Cheezly's Blue Style block. It was ok, but there was something a little off about it--kind of artificial tasting? (This was quite a few years ago, so it may have improved since then.)

I've also tried many online recipes. This variation of the many I've sampled is tasty enough, if not entirely "bleu-cheesy". So far, it's as good as any I've tried.

I read somewhere that fermented tofu is the secret of an authentic vegan bleu cheese. Seeing as how I have yet purchase, or make fermented tofu; I used tofu marinated in seasoned rice vinegar in its stead. I marinated the tofu for about 8 hours--longer would be better. This isn't really a recipe, but rather a loose guideline.

Vegan Bleu Cheese Dip or Dressing 
1/4 cup extra firm tofu, cut into cubes and marinated in seasoned rice vinegar for several hours or overnight
1 Tablespoon of finely chopped parsley
1 cup vegan mayo (I used unsweetened cashew yogurt)
 unsalted, unsweetened, roasted tahini paste to taste
lemon juice to taste
apple cider vinegar to taste
pinch of garlic granules
salt and pepper to taste (if you use mayo, you might not need any more salt)

Drain the vinegar cubes and crumble them into small pieces. Add the finely chopped parsley and garlic granules and mix.

In a separate bowl, spoon in the mayo and gradually add the tahini, lemon juice, and cider vinegar, tasting as you go. Start with 1/2 teaspoon of each, taste, and add more according to your palate, seasoning with salt and pepper as desired. Combine mixture with the crumbled tofu.

The only advice I can give is know what you're aiming for and trust your own palate.

It turns out a little different each time I make it. On this occasion, I used 2 teaspoons tahini, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice. I added a scant 1/4 teaspoon of salt and some pepper to taste. But, keep in mind that I used homemade yogurt, which doesn't contain any salt...if using store bought mayo, you may not need to add any salt at all. 

Does it taste like bleu cheese?

Sort of...this particular rendition was pretty good actually. The flavors are stronger and better the next day.








17 comments:

  1. The fermented tofu is found at Asian grocers. It's in a rectangular bottle and it smells really foul. Seriously fermented stuff! I think I had mine in the cupboard for years, for fear of using it. If you get the chance to find it though, who knows what you could whip up! Great idea for the theme!

    Zsu @ Zsu's Vegan Pantry

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    1. Thanks Zsu. :)

      I heard the tofu was pretty funky, and I looked it up online several times, but I was afraid to buy it... :P

      I'm thinking about trying to do my own. It does sound like an intriguing flavor profile to bump up flavor in vegan cheeses and so on...

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    2. Forgot to mention that Follow Your Heart has a pretty good Bleu Cheese Dressing now that is vegan. Not sure if you can get it, but if you ever see it, it's pretty on point.

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    3. I think I have seen that at Whole Foods...I must check it out!

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  2. Ooh good. I was hoping someone would post about blue cheese. This sounds really interesting. The nearest I've found in the shops is the Vegusto classic which is good but I'm not sure if it's available outside of Europe.

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  3. Blue cheese seems like such a tricky flavour to replicate. I like the way the parsley mimics the look of the veins a bit in your recipe. :) I've never tried that variety of Cheezly, but I think vegan cheeses are improving quickly -- I saw a vegan gorgonzola on The Vegan Word earlier today that looked promising!

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    1. I agree the world of vegan cheese is getting better every day! I'm going to do a search for that gorgonzola.

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  4. i've never had bleu cheese but this sounds like something i should try

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    1. The cool thing about this is that you can just follow your own palate...might be a bit more difficult if you've never eaten it, but so long as you end up with a taste you like. It should be tangy and rich.

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  5. This looks amazing! I'm putting this recipee in my pinterest <3

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  6. Thanks Manu! I still have to figure out what Pinterest is all about...

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  7. Oh, I bought fermented tofu once at the Asian store. Someone had recommended it to me. At the cashier, some Asian lady pointed at it and said "it's very good, very good". I was all excited. I put a cube into my mouth and I had to spit it out right away. I thought the tofu had gone bad, but it turns out it was still good... but definitely not for me! I'm willing to try it again though, but I won't be the one cooking it.

    That's the second blue cheese dip I've seen for that MoFo prompte. Have you seen Maya Mange's post?
    http://singeriesetboulesderiz.blogspot.ca/2015/09/trempette-au-fromage-bleu-et-smoothie.html

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  8. Yeah...the fermented tofu sounds kind of nasty...I'm not sure I could eat stuff made with it if it's that repulsive out of the jar.

    I'm going over to Maya's post now...thanks for the link!

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  9. OMG...I soooo need this right now!

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    1. You should whip some up...the more you eat, the better it tastes. :)

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  10. Excellent idea! I do miss Blue Cheese Dip. So good.

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