Vegan Smoked Cheese Ball

This vegan smoked cheese ball is easy to make, perfect for sharing, and ideal for the festive period. The smoked tofu, nutritional yeast, herbs and spices combine to give this a delightfully cheesy flavour, with a little nutty sweetness from the rocket, hazelnut, walnut and cranberry coating. It’s perfect to serve with crackers or breadsticks, and can be prepared a day or so ahead of time

Yield; A roughly 425g cheese ball Prep time; 20 minutes, plus 12 hours to refrigerate overnight

You’ll need;

280g smoked tofu. I used Smoked Tofoo which is available from most supermarkets
Three tablespoons of dairy free butter, melted. I used Flora Salted Plant Butter, which is available from most supermarkets
Two tablespoons of lemon juice
Two tablespoons of milk
Two tablespoons of nutritional yeast
Half a teaspoon of mixed herbs
Half a teaspoon of smoked paprika
One quarter of a teaspoon of garlic granules
One quarter of a teaspoon of onion granules
One quarter of a teaspoon of ground turmeric
Salt to taste

For the coating you’ll need;

One packed tablespoon (5g) of rocket, finely diced
One tablespoon (10g) of dried cranberries, finely diced
One tablespoon (10g) of walnut pieces, crushed
One tablespoon (10g) of whole blanched hazelnuts, crushed

Method;

Start by adding the tofu, dairy free butter, lemon juice, milk, nutritional yeast, herbs paprika, onion, garlic and turmeric into a high speed blender. Then blend until you have quite a thick mixture, and the tofu has become smooth. You may need to pause a few times to scrape down the sides, and make sure everything is being evenly combined
Next, line a small dish with PVC free cling film/plastic wrap, and spoon the tofu mixture into it
Then gather the sides of the cling film/plastic wrap to form the mixture into a ball shape. Pop it in the fridge and leave it to firm up overnight
Once you’re ready to add the coating, add the rocket, cranberries, walnuts and hazelnuts onto a chopping board in an even layer. Unwrap the cheese ball and carefully place it onto the chopping board, gently rolling it around in the coating to ensure it gets coated evenly
When the cheese ball is evenly coated place it back in the fridge and keep it chilled until you’re ready to serve it