These lettuce cups willed with a quick homemade cashew cheese are the most delightful snack, starter or canape. You can leave the parmesan off and add nutritional yeast to make them vegan but as a vegetarian option with a snowy covering of parmesan at the end they’re incredible. Add to your Chistmas menu immediately.

I first had something along these lines when I was in Byron Bay and went to the iconic Rae’s for dinner. We had this gorgeous seafood centric meal that started with these. They’re so fresh and light but have an indulgent vibe from that snowy layer of parmesan and the creamy filling. I know adding parmesan to a vegan cheese might seem ridiculous but if you’re not vegan and just eat cashew cheese because it’s delicious then you’re going to totally understand this angle.

You can start this recipe the night before or simply an hour or 2 before if you use hot water to soak the cashews, it really depends what kind of hectic mess you’re in and when you remember to get started. Hectic mess is my mood for December and I’m hoping it transfers into tranquil monk for January. Probably not going to happen but I’ll keep you posted.

Some things to remember: lemons come in different sizes yes but also in different levels of intensity of flavour so taste and add to suit your tastes. It needs at least the juice of one lemon but beyond that is your choice. I’ve made these with and without the garlic and I’ve decided to leave it out as I found it over powering. Chives (or sub for the green part of spring onion) offer a more mild flavour that lets the dill and lemon shine. That said my garlic tolerance is pretty low so feel free to add it if you want that extra little zing. I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for 3 months and travel and life got in the way so let’s get to it shall we?

Makes 20 lettuce cups

Ingredients

3 baby gem lettuce

350g cashews

juice and zest of 1 large lemon (get 2 so you can add juice to taste)

1 small clove garlic, crushed (optional)

2/3 cup dill

1/4 cup chives

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup freshly grated parmesan

Black pepper

Directions

Soak the cashews overnight in cold water or for an hour or 2 in hot water. You want them to be soft enough to squish between your fingers under light pressure.

Drain the cashews and add to food processor along with the lemon juice and zest (reserve 1 tsp for garnish), the garlic if using, chives, dill, white pepper, and salt. Process until well combined and paste like. Add the olive oil and process for another 30 seconds to a minute. Taste and add more lemon and seasoning if needed. Check consistency is it is too stiff add 1 Tbs cold water at a time to loosen. You want it to be a spreadable consistency.

Separate and wash the gem lettuce leaves, fill with about 1 Tbs of the mixture dollop it a couple of cms from the step and spread up. Add more for any bigger leaves. Once finished, sprinkle with the freshly grated parmesan and finish with a touch of extra lemon zest and the black pepper.

Serve immediately or they will keep chilled for a few hours but I would always add the parmesan just before serving for that nice snowy effect.

HH. x