Delicious Mac & Cheese - Vegan Style
(PB, can be Gluten Free)
If you are REALLY hungry or craving satisfying, comforting food then this delicious Mac & Cheese is for you! – The good thing is, its not even that naughty, but it sure tastes it! Add to that, you are getting a sneaky portion of veg in a DELICIOUS dinner, which also makes this a great dish to try if you have kids who aren't as into their veggies as you'd like.
This plant-based Mac & Cheese style dish is made with a pumpkin puree base sauce. Pumpkin/squash are nutrient dense, but low in calories - They are a great source of antioxidants and are high in vitamins A, C, B2, Potassium, Copper, Iron and Beta Carotene to name a few!
This dish also contains healthy fats from cashew nuts and added B12 from the Nutritional Yeast, which is important for us all to get enough of these days, Vegan or not. Its the Nutritional Yeast which also adds the cheesy flavour.
This is a great recipe to have in the bag if you grow lots of your own pumpkin/squash. Its a great alternative to the pumpkin soup or curry classic ways to use them up when you have abundance! Plus, if you make up (or buy) the pumpkin puree in advance, it makes this a really easy, quick, healthy meal to whip up that kids and adults will LOVE. Also pureeing and freezing your pumpkin or squash ahead of time is another GREAT way to extend the storage life of your crop. Its 3 May 2021 as I write this recipe, and I've just made another batch of puree to freeze down as the few stored pumpkins we still have from last season could turn bad any day now - they’ve done incredibly well though, we've had them stored since October!
You'll find the super simple puree method/recipe here: https://www.freedomforestlife.co.uk/pumpkinsquash-puree
I have a couple of different versions of this dish, depending how we feel. The super healthy version with no added toppings, with added grated vegan cheese (which does make it higher in fat but more classic) or if i'm feeling extravagant, I'll whip up some breadcrumb topping by adding small chunks of stale sour dough bread (blitz alone first), sunflower seeds, dried herbs, extra nutritional yeast and a little grated cheese to the food processor and then sprinkle over the top before putting in the oven.
What you will need:
Suitable roasting dish
Stick blender, food processor or blender
Ingredients:
400g dried Pasta (we use organic or you can use Gluten Free)
400g Pumpkin/Squash puree (fresh, defrosted or canned)
1 cup (approx) Pasta Cooking water or saved veg broth
100g soaked Cashew nuts (soak for a few hours first - if you forget, bring nuts to the boil in water & simmer for few mins until softened)
4 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
3+ Garlic cloves – pureed/mashed (to your taste)
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
Salt & Pepper to taste
Dash of Chilli Flakes (optional)
Optional Tops:
Grated Vegan Cheese (we use the standard Violife block)
Breadcrumb/Herb/Seed/Nut/Nutritional Yeast/Cheese (blitzed) topping.
Method:
Prepare or defrost Puree ahead of time ideally if using fresh and soak Cashew's at least 3 hrs in advance or cook up as mentioned above and make puree according to 'Pumpkin/Squash Puree' recipe. If you are doing these 2 steps now ensure you allow extra prep time before dinner.
Pre-heat oven to 180oC, Gas 4-5 or 350oF
In a large sauce pan, cook your pasta according to the instructions, minus about 4 mins, so your pasta is still a little firm – Drain and save a cup or so of your cooking water (or broth) – Empty pasta into a deep roasting dish that is a suitable size.
In the same sauce pan, heat up your oil, add the garlic and cook for 2-3 mins - turn off the heat.
If you are using a stick blender, add all the remaining ingredients to the pan, otherwise add everything to your blender/processor jug, (Pumpkin puree, 1 cup cooking water/broth, Nutritional Yeast, Garlic, soaked/cooked Cashews, Paprika, Salt & Pepper.
Blitz until reasonably smooth and pour all over the pasta in your roasting tray. If your sauce feels too thick to pour, add a little more water and re-blend, you will need to gauge this depending on the water content of the pumpkin/squash you've used.
Carefully mix, until the pasta is evenly covered with your sauce and smooth off the top.
Pop it in the oven as it is for about 15 minutes or so until the top starts to crips off slightly and all the flavours really come together or add you choice of toppings first.
We like to serve ours with a simple freshly picked homegrown, seasonal salad to add a little crunch and texture.
Enjoy ✌️🌿 (PB* = Plant Based)