Vegan Cream Cheese filled Cherry Tomatoes

These tasty little cherries with home-made vegan cream cheese make a lovely appetizer or finger food.

Yield: 1 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vegan cream cheese (bought or home-made)
• 1/3 cup mixed nuts, chopped
• 1 tsp. white miso
• nutmeg (optional)
• Tabasco (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• parsley, coriander and basil as optional garnish

for the home-made vegan cream cheese:

• 50 grams tofu
• 3 tablespoons soy yogurt
• dash tamari or soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon agave, apple syrup
• dash cayenne
• pinch nutmeg

Directions:

to make the vegan cream cheese:

1. Puree the tofu and soy yogurt t a smooth consistency.
2. Add the tahini a small dash of tamari and 1 tablespoon of agave to balance out the saltiness.
3. A pinch of nutmeg adds a slight nuttiness to the neutral flavor.
4. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, although you would generally want it to be very mild you can also add a touch of cayenne or Tabasco.

to make the filled cherry tomatoes:

1. Remove the top of the cherry tomato and remove the seeds and inner parts of the tomato. You can use a melon baller, a grapefruit spoon or a small demitasse spoon.
2. Using a knife, pierce the bottom of the tomato slightly, so that it will remain sitting upright and not roll over.
3. Chop the nuts, and mix the cream cheese and nut filling.
4. Fill the cherry tomatoes with the cream cheese nut mixture.
5. Sprinkle a few chopped herbs and optionally a small basil leaf.

Note:

The vegan cream cheese recipe can be adapted to be sweet or savory and can be used as a spread, dip or filling.