Vegan Macaroni Cheese! (It's Basically a Salad)

I'm by no means a vegan, but like a lot of other people, I'm trying to cut down a little on meat and dairy. I love a good veggie burger. That really is a salad. If you order one somewhere and it comes with salad, then it's two salads. You will be storing up 5-a-day portions to keep you going for weeks. You'll be unstoppable. 

You might, however, be feeling a little sceptical about pretend cheese. But I think these vegans might be onto something. Nutritional yeast powder (yeesh) is a lot more than what it's cracked up to be. It looks exactly like the dried flakes Nana Angie feeds her fish. It tastes like goddamned cheese. Or, (because I'm sure you don't believe me) enough like cheese to trigger that cheese switch in your brain. It tastes savoury. Like salty, cheesy goodness. Like cheesy-biscuit flavour. 

Anyhow, it's good enough that my family consistently choose my vegan version of mac and cheese over the real thing. It's healthier, it's delicious, it's moreish, and its pasta, for crying out loud. If you're turning down pasta, it's time to take a long, hard look in the mirror, my friend. Have a strong word with yourself. Walk it off.

(It looks like this)

After seeing that photo, I know you'll be flexing your culinary muscles, fed up with my waffling and desperate to get to the recipe. So that's enough from me, try it, hope you like it! X

Ingredients:

320 grams dried pasta (80g per person)

Sauce:

8 tbsp nutritional yeast (2 tbsp per person)
2.5 tbsp plant butter 
2.5 tbsp plain flour
700 ml unsweetened plant milk (cashew recommended. To make your own blend 1 part raw cashews with 3 parts water)
1 heaped tsp English mustard
1 dash dry white wine or apple cider vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 pinch black pepper

Extras:

2 slices bread, grated
A few sprigs of thyme
200g vegan cheese cut into 1cm cubes

1 packet of cheese and onion crisps

Method:

First, I make the cashew nut milk. I soak my cashew nuts in water beforehand for at least a couple of hours. I then blend them with fresh water, and strain the mixture. You can use a fine mesh sieve, a proper cheese cloth or a clean tea towel. I use a fine net bag which you can buy from supermarkets to weigh fruit and vegetables in.

From here on in, it's a basic macaroni cheese recipe, except with vegan ingredients.

First, preheat the oven to 180℃. Now, start to boil the pasta in a large pan of salted water. It will take roughly ten minutes to cook once the water comes to the boil. When it is cooked, drain and set aside, reserving 1 cup of the water.

While you're waiting, begin to melt the plant-based butter on a medium heat. When the butter is melted, start to add the flour, a little at a time, stirring quickly to ensure it all combines. Then, slowly add the plant milk a little at a time, stirring frequently. When all the milk has been added, add the nutritional yeast, the mustard, the wine or vinegar, the garlic powder and the salt and pepper. Some people like to add a pinch of turmeric to give the sauce a vibrant yellow colour, but I don't think that's necessary, and will make the sauce slightly bitter if anything.

Now the sauce needs to heat and thicken. This may take a few minutes, but wait and keep stirring. When the sauce has thickened to the desired consistency, taste it and adjust the seasoning. 

At some point while you've been cooking the sauce, the pasta will have cooked and been set aside. Now, combine it with the sauce in a large baking dish. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the pasta-water you saved earlier (the consistency should be a little thinner than you want it to be on your plate; the water will evaporate in the oven and it will thicken).

If you are using vegan cheese, stir in the cubes now. I was a little on the fence about vegan cheese, but I think this is a perfect way to enjoy it. The cheese will turn into little pockets of cheesy gooiness, and really takes the pasta bake to the next level.

If you are adding a breadcrumb topping, finely grate your bread and sprinkle over the pasta, along with the thyme. Alternatively, you could scrunch up a packet of crisps and scatter those over the top.

Now, bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.

Thyme breadcrumb topping

The final step is to serve and enjoy, feeling very smug that you just made a completely vegan macaroni cheese. Bon voyage!  🤠