I was within days of developing a food-crush on ricotta cheese when the doc not-so-subtly suggested that dairy should leave my diet {a post for another day}. Luckily there are plenty of folks out there in the same boat that have been creating dairy substitutes in my absence – like Nom Nom Paleo.
It’s amazing that macadamia nuts, lemon juice, water, and salt can be whipped into something so ricotta-like. A review of the recipe {and the recipe itself} can be found on Serious Eats. But I’ll have to disagree with this review a bit. If you use a Blendtec or Vitamix and purée, add a teeny bit more water, purée again, and repeat until white and fluffy – this mixture tastes much like ricotta. Add a bit of basil and, well, you’ve got yourself a darn good substitute.