1 cup pinenuts, soaked one hour
3/4 cup rejuvelac
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Freshly cracked pepper, sea salt, za’tar spice, and/or red chile flakes to taste

• Rinse soaked pinenuts well.
• In a blender combine soaked pinenuts with the rejuvelac.
• When blended pour into a bowl, cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place for 24 hours to ferment.
• At the end of 24 hours, take another bowl and place six layers of cheese cloth over the top of it and secure cloth firmly with a rubber band. Place a 3 1/2 ” flan mold on top of the taut cheese cloth. Pour fermented pinenuts into the flan mold. Pull cheese cloth taut again if necessary. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours to allow all of the moisture to seep out of the cheese and for the cheese to set.
• At the end of 8 hours, remove cheese from refrigerator. Slide a flexible spatula that is as wide as the flan mold underneath the cheese between cheese cloth and flan mold. Lift cheese onto a serving dish and slide spatula out from underneath it. Position cheese on the plate and then carefully remove the flan mold.
• Pour extra-virgin olive oil over the cheese. Squeese lemon juice over the top.
• Sprinkle a generous amount of freshly cracked pepper, sea salt, za’tar spice and/or red chile flakes on top.
• Eat immediately or allow to marinate for an hour or more in the refrigerator. Cheese will keep for 3-4 days in refrigerator.
• Serve with endive leaves, slices of fresh or dehydrated fennel or celery, raw crackers or flatbreads.

VARIATIONS:
Minted Goat Cheese: Before molding the cheese in the flan mold on the cheesecloth, blend 1/3 cup thinly sliced mint into the cheese. Mold as above. Marinate in oil and spices if desired.