Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Baked Mac 'n' Cashew Cheese

Adapted from VegNews (January-February 2008). We spent so much time in the kitchen this past holiday, we decided to make something quick and comforting, so VegNews' Mac 'n' (cashew-based) Cheese recipe totally caught my eye! We got very positive responses at Candice's Christmas Eve gathering (including kudos -- in the form of actual consumption -- from Mac 'n' cheese connoisseur Tyler). Definitely a keeper.

Our modifications were minor: more garlic and less cooking water used.

Ingredients

  • 2 tsps. sea salt
  • 8 ounces macaroni (we used fusili)
  • 4 slices of bread (we used sliced francese), torn in to large pieces
  • 1/3 c. + 2 tbsp. Earth Balance buttery spread
  • 2 tbsp. shallots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 c. red or yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 c. carrots
  • 1/3 c. onion
  • 1/4 c. cashews
  • 3/4 tsp. garlic
  • 1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp. cayenne
  • 1/4 tsp. paprika

Cook macaroni until al dente.

Using a food processor, make breadcrumbs by pulverizing sliced bread to a medium-fine texture with 2 tbsp. margarine. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion and 1 c. of water. Bring to a boil, then cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.

Process cashews, salt, garlic, 1/3. c. margarine, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne in a blender.

Add softened vegetables and cooking water, as needed, to the blender and blend until perfectly smooth.

In a large bowl, completely coat the pasta with the blended cheese sauce.

Spread the pasta into a 9x12 casserole dish.

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and dust with paprika.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the top has turned golden brown.

Serves 6.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Definitely gotta try this! Thank goodness! A mac n' "cheese" recipe without nutritional yeast! Its sounds great! THanks for the recipe!

cvc said...

I had a similar response (oh, good! A nutritional yeast alternative!) when I saw the original recipe! It is not low-fat, but we liked it a lot. Would love to hear what you think of the recipe!