1. Soak the almonds in boiling water for at least 30 minutes. Drain and rinse afterwards.
2. Place the lemon juice, garlic, almond milk, a good pinch of salt and rinsed almonds in a small blender / smoothie maker like this.
3. Blend until smooth, stop and use a spatula to help the process if necessary.
4. Taste and adjust the amount of salt and lemon juice to taste. Add miso and nutritional yeast at this point if using. Don’t worry if the mixture tastes quite strong at this point, it will mellow out during the next two stages of preparation.
5. If you want your ‘feta’ to be shaped like a block, find a rectangular mould with drainage holes (I used this tofu press for this) and line it with a piece of dense cheesecloth (if the cheesecloth isn’t dense enough to hold the mixture inside, double or triple layer it). Otherwise line a sieve with a piece of cheesecloth and place it over a bowl.
6. Place the cheese mixture inside the cheesecloth. Even out with a spatula if you are making a block, if not bring the corners of the cheesecloth together to form a ball. Fold one side of the cheesecloth over evened out feta, then place the tofu press lid on top and weigh the mixture down (block) or squeeze very gently (bundle) to allow the excess water to drip away. Place in the fridge overnight to allow the mixture to thicken and for the excess moisture to drain away. At this point the cheese will be creamy but still fairly soft / wet – perfect for spreading on a bagel, but for this application we will need to dry it out in the oven.
7. Gently place the drained cheese block / ball on a piece of baking, wrap it in baking paper on all sides. Bake in a 140º C (285 º F) oven for about 45 minutes, until you feel quite a bit of resistance when you try to press the cheese gently with your finger. Allow it to cool down completely and then stick into the refrigerator for a few hours before cutting or it will fall apart. After baking, this cheese has a yellow crust (more pronounced if you use olive oil), which I simply trim off with a serrated knife before placing it on the salad.
8. This cheese freezes well, so if you’ve made too much (I tend to make a double batch), freeze some for putting on a pizza or in a salad later.

SALAD AND DRESSING

1. Cut up your veggies the way you enjoy them. I cut my tomatoes into slices and halves (I used various sizes), chopped my cucumber into thick half-moons, sliced my red onion very finely and finally cut my peppers into half, deseeded and sliced into thin half moons.
2. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
3. Combine the chopped veggies with olives in a large bowl.
4. Stir the dressing through just before serving. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a block of feta (or chunks of it) on top sprinkled with fresh or dry oregano.