Beets taste so nice combined with the flavors of the vegan ‘blue cheese’ and a hint of maple syrup. We really enjoyed this tasty lunch today. It would also make good appetizers or finger foods at a party.

Beet Brushetta with Homemade Vegan Blue Cheese

Yield: 8-12 slices

Ingredients:

  • 8-12 slices whole grain bread or baguette
  • 2-3 medium beets, cooked
  • 1 cup home made vegan ‘blue cheese’ (ingredients and instructions below)
  • 3 tablespoons in olive oil to brush the bread
  • 1 tablespoon agave or maple syrup to drizzle on the bread
  • thyme for seasoning and garnishing

for the vegan ‘blue cheese’:

  • 1/4 cup cashew nuts, chopped
  • 1 cup millet, cooked
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 1-2 tablespoons white miso
  • 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
  • 4-6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped

Beet Brushetta with Homemade Vegan Blue Cheese

Directions:

Prepare the vegan ‘blue cheese’ first or a day or two ahead of time.

to make the vegan ‘blue cheese’:

  1. Put the cooked millet in a food processor and pulse to make a smooth paste.
  2. Add the chopped cashews and pulse again.
  3. Add the tahini, lemon juice and miso and again pulse.
  4. Add the seasonings and rest of the ingredients and pulse to blend.
  5. Taste and season accordingly.
  6. We found it to be perfect at this stage.

This recipe remains as a smooth spread. It can be thinned to make a nice salad dressing (I would use plain soy milk to thin). The recipe can keep in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for 3-4 days.

to make the bruschetta:

  1. Slice the bread and toast or grill.
  2. While the slices of bread are toasting, slice the beets in medium thin slices.
  3. Place the toasted bread slices on a cookie sheet.
  4. Lightly brush the toasts with olive oil and then drizzle (about 1 teaspoon per bread) a bit of agave or maple syrup along the top. Not all over – just lightly drizzled here and there.
  5. Place the beet slices on the bread, and a generous dollop of vegan ‘blue cheese’ on top of the beets.
  6. Sprinkle the top with fresh thyme leaves.
  7. Place in the oven to grill for a few minutes to lightly brown the tops and warm.

Notes:

We are quite enthusiastic about this tasty homemade ‘blue cheese’ spread. It uses no soy products and is very easy to make. It tasted very much like what we remember ‘blue cheese’ to be like.