Almond Ricotta

Ok, all I can say about this dairy-free almond ricotta is yum-diddly-yum! I wanted to make a ricotta board for Christmas, so I was looking around for a delicious dairy-free version. This recipe ticked all the boxes! It even delightfully surprised my family, who claimed the ricotta was better than the usual dairy ricotta ;)

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

• 2 cups slivered blanched almonds
• 2-3 tsp nutritional yeast
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 – 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 dash garlic powder
• 3/4 – 1 cup water
• 2-3 Tbsp fresh parsley (optional, but very yummy!)

Instructions

1. Add all ricotta ingredients (starting with the lesser amount of water (3/4 cup and salt (1/2 tsp)) to a high-spend blender (I used my Thermomix at 9 speed) and blend for 2-minutes until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides as needed. You are looking for a well-puréed mixture with only very small bits of almonds intact. Add a bit more water a little at a time if the mixture is having a hard time blending until smooth.
2. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more salt for overall flavor, nutritional yeast for cheesiness, and lemon juice for acidity. 
3. At this point, the “cheese” is ready to enjoy, used just in the same way you would use regular dairy ricotta cheese. However, it can also be wrapped in cheesecloth, formed into a ball, and placed into a fine mesh strainer set over a mixing bowl up to 3 days. This will allow the “cheese” to firm up a bit. However, this is optional. You can also transfer straight from blender to a storage container and refrigerate.
4. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 5-7 days.

Credit to Minimalist Baker 

Approved for:

Adrenal diet, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, anti-candida diet, SIBO diet (minus the garlic powder), low hydrogen-sulphide diet.

Author: Filipa Bellette is Co-Founder of Chris & Filly Functional Medicine. She is an accredited Clinical Nutritionist & Functional Medicine Practitioner. She is also a Ph.D. thought-leader, award-winning writer, and regularly published as a guest blogger & in the media. Together with her husband Chris Bellette, Filipa has worked with over 2,000+ busy, burnout clients in the last 10+ years, and specialises in producing healthy, balanced, and happy Mums & Dads...or as she calls it, a Power Parent! Filipa’s own passion for producing high-performance Power Parents came from her own personal experience of Mummy Burnout, after having babies and juggling the demands of business, family, and her failing health.