#cheese sauce

This isn’t a super lazy recipe like I usually do. It’s also not completely dirt cheap, but it’s awesome, and it does work out cheaper than dairy cheese in terms of money and work. Grating a block of cheese over a pizza is labour intensive. Pouring this liquid gold is not.

It comes out as a really thick liquid that you can spread, drizzle, stir, pour or dip to your hearts content. If you wanted something like cheese sticks, you can probably thicken it enough for that too.

You can adjust the flavour to suit yourself, the key ingredients are very simple.

The base

• ½ a cup of vegetable oil
• ¼ cup of flour (I use wheat flour, but if you want to try a gluten free flour you could)
• ¼ cup ground linseed (this is the secret weapon, this stuff is amazing)
• 2 cups of almond or other non dairy milk

Flavours

You have a whole bunch of options here. This is my personal favourite combination.

• ¼ cup brewers yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cube of veggie stock
  
• 3 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

Other stuff you can add that is also delicious

• Vegan friendly miso
• Lemon juice
• Garlic powder
  
• Onion powder
• Coconut cream (make sure it’s a brand that doesn’t abuse plantation monkeys and other wildlife)
• Vegan cream
  
• Nut/seed butter (like cashew or almond, or tahini)
• A whole bunch of herbs and spices

Method

1. Mix everything except the almond milk together in a pot to form a paste.
   
2. Add a little almond milk and mix again. Repeat until you have a thick, smooth paste.
   
3. Put the pot on medium heat and keep stirring and adding almond milk until you run out of almond milk. A whisk is really useful for this step.
4. Simmer for five or ten minutes, keep stirring so it doesn’t stick.
   
5. Adjust according to your tastes and needs, you can make it thinner with more almond milk, or thicker by simmering it for longer (or add a little more linseed).
6. Keep it in the fridge in a jar, and use it as you want it. It makes a great pasta sauce when it’s a little thinned out. Also excellent on sandwiches.
7. My next step will be to see if I can make it solid and slice-able.