Pimento cheese, y'all

[Guest guest]

I'm originally from the south. One of the favorite dishes in our family

is a cheese spread called " pimento cheese. " It was made either with

grated cheddar cheese or with cream cheese. (Pimentos are roasted red

peppers.) We'd get one of those Napoleon brand jars of chopped pimentos

and drain them. The cheese would be mixed with mayo and seasoned with

salt and pepper.

 

I grew up loving this stuff. But, much as I love all the great vegan

burgers and crumbles and cold cuts and such, I have never developed a

taste for vegan " cheese. " I figured pimento cheese had gone the way of

my mom's fried chicken.

 

But then, I've been getting Vegan Gourmet's cream cheese for bagels, and

I think it's pretty tasty. Suddenly, today, it hit me -- I could make

pimento cheese with it! I love roasted red peppers and always have a jar

or two in the pantry, so I just drained some and chopped them in the

food processor. I added the Vegan Gourmet cream cheese and some

veganaise. A few more pulses with the processor, and there it was.

 

Pimento cheese. Really, really good pimento cheese. Delicious for

sandwiches or in celery. Best damned canape ever.

 

Here's the recipe:

 

2-3 large pieces of roasted red peppers from a jar (enough to make 1/4

to 1/3 cup minced), well drained

1 container Vegan Gourmet cream cheese

4 tablespoons veganaise (I love the grapeseed oil kind myself)

a little freshly ground black pepper, if desired

 

Food process the drained red peppers into small chunks. Don't make mush,

but be sure the pieces are pretty small. Add the Vegan Gourmet cream

cheese and veganaise. Pulse until reasonably well mixed. It doesn't have

to be uniform.

 

Cheers,

 

Trish