Pesto and Sun-dried Tomato 'Goat Cheese'

This cheese spread is ridiculously easy and will definitely impress! I made this for my visit with the grandparents up in Boca and they loved it so much that they literally devoured it in one sitting. It's a nice little appetizer to bring over to someone's house, a sure crowd pleaser.

For cheese:
1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked for 2 hours) or raw macadamia nuts (soaked for 4 hours)
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup water
1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon refined coconut oil
1 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar

For the Pesto you can use whatever recipe you like. I threw together a Spinach Pesto which turned out really great:
1 cup spinach
1/3 cup basil (I used Thai basil since mine grows like a weed)
1 tablespoon raw walnuts
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/3 cup olive oil (more or less, slowly drizzle it in and adjust)
6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced into tiny pieces
1-2 tablespoons pine nuts

1 small bowl + saran wrap

Line your small bowl with saran wrap, set aside. In a food processor add all the cheese ingredients. Once the mixture is completely smooth pour half of it into the prepared bowl. Set aside the remaining cheese in a separate dish since we will need the food processor again.

Process the pesto ingredients (except the sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts) in the food processor. Once everything is blended and pesto-like remove from the food processor. Layer 4(ish) tablespoons of pesto into the prepared bowl over the cheese, use a spatula to spread it even. (Freeze remaining pesto for later use, I normally toss some grape tomatoes in leftover pesto and serve it as a side dish). Top it off with the sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Pour the remaining cheese over the pesto and sun-dried tomato layer. Place in the fridge overnight, or a minimum of 6 hours to set.

Before serving lift the cheese dome out of the bowl by picking up the edges of the saran wrap, invert it on a serving plate and remove the wrap. Drizzle with some olive oil and top with herbs and pine nuts. With this you'll look like a true professional! 

Serve with a side of pita chips, rice crackers, or dipping veggies.

Recipe adapted from Fork and Beans