This is my favourite vegan macaroni cheese recipe to date. It's a combo of every vegan mac 'n' cheese recipe I love, and doesn't require any actual supermarket vegan cheese. I love greens in my macaroni cheese for a bit of extra flavour and some freshness, but this step is absolutely optional - just a good addition to the perfect comfort food.
Serves: 6 (if adjusting this recipe for fewer people, it will only be necessary to adjust the amount of pasta, you'll just have a bit more sauce.)
Ingredients:
500g pasta of choice (preferably macaroni)
For the sauce:
1 white onion or two shallots, quartered
1 large carrot, peeled and quartered
1 potato, peeled and roughly chopped
4 tbsp vegan butter/spread
4 tbsp flour
200 ml plant milk - preferably not something sweet like nut milk; I use soy or hemp
150 ml vegan single cream
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
2-3 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 conehead cabbage or greens of your choice
For the topping:
1 slice of bread - I use wholemeal
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp mixed herbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tbsp oil
Method:
1. Cook the pasta as directed by the package instructions.
2. Boil a saucepan of water. Once it reaches boiling point, season the water with a generous pinch of salt (optional) and add the onion/shallots, carrot and potato. Boil for 15 minutes or until the potato is fork-tender. Before draining, save roughly 100ml of the cooking water and set aside. Drain vegetables and set aside.
3. While your vegetables are boiling, add the vegan butter to a mid sized saucepan and once melted, add the flour. Mix thoroughly and allow to cook for a minute or so to get rid of the floury taste.
4. Add the plant milk bit by bit, whisking constantly so that the butter/flour mixture is incorporated and smooth. As it simmers, add the vegan cream. This isn't essential but helps give the roux body once it goes in the oven as plant milk tends to evaporate easily.
5. Add the boiled vegetables and saved water. Blend them thoroughly with a hand blender, until the sauce is completely smooth.
6. As you allow the sauce to simmer down to your desired consistency, season with the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
7. Add all the cooked pasta to a large ovenproof dish and combine with the 'cheese' sauce.
8. Chop the greens roughly and steam for 5-7 minutes until reduced. Combine with the pasta in the ovenproof dish.
9. Blend the bread with the nutritional yeast, paprika, mixed herbs and garlic powder in a blender. Sprinkle evenly over the pasta and drizzle 1-2 tbsp oil over the topping.
10. Bake for 15 minutes at 200*C.
OPTIONAL ADDITION: I roasted some tenderstem broccoli with soy sauce and paprika until it was almost crispy and then stuck these into the macaroni, heads upwards so they crisped up in the final baking stage. You can equally do this with mushrooms or experiment with some other vegetable for a smoky and salty addition to this rich macaroni.
Enjoy!
