Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Vegan Mac and Cheese


I was very intrigued by this recipe. We are big fans of Mac and cheese and I wanted to find something where the "cheese-sauce" was thick and hearty but didn't skimp out on flavor. This was one of the only recipes I found that didn't have tofu as the first ingredient. Now just to be clear, I'm not against tofu. I have been enjoying it lately in a lot of different meals, but to be honest, we are eating a LOT of of soy products lately (soy milk, tofu, temph, etc) and I wanted to find something different. 



The sauce in this recipe is out of this world. Amazing! I was honestly super impressed by the flavor, texture, and just overall yummyness. And what is the main ingredient? Sunflower seeds! That you soak for 2 hours or more. That got me thinking...I bet I can make my own sunflower seed butter instead of buying it in the store, and overall it will probably be a lot cheaper. A task for next week! 


This is what our Vegan meal plan looked like yesterday:

Breakfast: Sprouted cinnamon-raisin bagel with pumpkin butter, fresh squeezed orange juice

Snack:  raw veggies with hummus, apple

Lunch: leftover homemade miso soup with quinoa made in the rice cooker

Dinner: Vegan Mac and Cheese, steamed green beans, Pears




Happy Healthy Eating!! 

Enjoy!


**This recipe is adapted from Post Punk Kitchen
 
Mac and Cheese Recipe
 Makes: 6 servings Prep: 2 hours or more  Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Printable Recipe

1 cup unroasted raw sunflower seeds, 
1 TB olive oil
3/4 cup carrots, sliced
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 cups vegetable broth
2 TB cornstarch 
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 TB tomato paste
2 TB lemon juice
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 TB onion powder
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 LB pasta of your choice 
1 cup frozen peas, thawed 
shredded soy cheese, optional 
season with extra salt if needed
           
1. Place sunflower seeds in a bowl and submerge with water. Let soak for at least 2 hours, can also be soaked overnight. Drain. This may be done a few days ahead of time, and keep the pre-soaked sunflower seeds in the fridge until needed. 
2. Sautee with oil in a frying pan carrots and onion. Add salt and cook for 7 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. 
3. Place carrots and onions in a blender. Add broth, corn starch, yeast, tomato paste and soaked sunflower seeds. Blend until very smooth. You should only have a little graininess.
4. Cook pasta according to package directions. 
5. Transfer sauce back into frying pan, and cook over medium heat until thickened. Add lemon juice and salt as needed. 
6. When pasta is done, mix with sauce. Add peas. Mix well. 
7. Sprinkle soy cheese over top, and can be transfered to a 8x8 square baking dish, and broiled for a couple of minutes


-------------------------

No comments:

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails