Vegan mac 'n' cheese recipe
A vegan version of a comfort food classic, this mac 'n' cheese is a crowd-pleaser. Pickled cabbage may seem like a mad ingredient to add, but it lends this a subtle lactic tang.
Tip: To reheat from frozen, place the leftover mac in an ovenproof dish. Add a splash of unsweetened plant milk. Cover with foil and place in an oven heated to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Cook for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 5–10 minutes, until the top has crisped up again.
This recipe is from Leon Fast Vegan. Published by Conran, £25, out now.
Ingredients
For the mac 'n' cheese- 350 g small pasta tubes, such as macaroni or spirali (not quick-cook macaroni)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 500 ml unsweetened plant milk, plus extra to taste
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast, plus extra to taste
- 2 tsp English mustard powder, plus extra to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 50 g sauerkraut or pickled cabbage
- 1 pinch white pepper
- 1 neutral cooking oil, for greasing
- 5 tbsp ground almonds
- 75 ml water
- 150 g white potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
- 350 g squash, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 50 g slightly stale bread
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 pinch sea salt
Details
- Cuisine: American
- Recipe Type: Pasta
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 25 mins
- Cooking Time: 40 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Mix the almonds and water together and allow to soak.
- Cook the potatoes, squash and carrot in a pan of boiling water for 10 minutes, until just tender. Drain.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a separate pan of boiling salted water for 3 minutes less than the packet instructions. Drain.
- While the vegetables and pasta are cooking, blitz the bread and garlic clove in a food processor to create breadcrumbs for the topping.
- Toss the crumbs in the oil, then tip into a bowl and wipe out the food processor bowl.
- To make the béchamel sauce, heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the flour. Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes to form a paste (don’t let it brown).
- Gradually add the milk, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until about half has been incorporated, then stir in the rest of the milk. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. At this point, the sauce will be very loose.
- Working in batches if necessary, place the vegetables in a food processor (or use a high-powered blender) and add the béchamel, nutritional yeast, mustard powder, garlic powder, salt, nutmeg, sauerkraut, pepper and soaked ground almonds. Blitz until completely smooth, scraping the sides down twice. (A high-powered processor or blender should make the sauce smooth, so keep going until this happens.)
- Taste the sauce and add more mustard, pepper, yeast or salt, if needed. It should be tangy, cheesy and creamy.
- Stir into the drained pasta. If dry, add more milk to loosen, remembering it will thicken when it cooks.
- Tip into a large greased gratin dish and sprinkle over a thick layer of the breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden brown.
You might also like: