Being fairly new to a fully plant-based diet, there is one thing that both of us are starting to miss - cheese. Amy was a dairy addict and she's always been partially partial to a Mac ‘n’ cheese as a weekday meal. Ever since we've been fully plant-based she's been experimenting with a whole host of concoctions to try and get as close as she can to Mac ‘n’ Cheese, but nothing's quite hit the spot. The closest we've managed, is this recipe below which is very good. If you fancied carbonara, you could swap the Mac and add the tagliatelle (we won't tell) and with a sprinkling of Vivera Plant Bacon Pieces, it’s phenomenal!
Ingredients:
3 portions of Macaroni or other pasta of your choice,
40g Cashew nuts,
1 medium-sized potato, peeled and chopped into small cubes
Half a carrot, peeled and chopped into small cubes
120ml nut milk – I have used hazelnut and almond but soy would also be fine!
90ml vegetable stock
1-2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast with B12
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 heaped tablespoon tapioca
1/2 lemon – squeezed for its juice
1 tablespoon Flora butter
2 cloves garlic
Vivera Plant Bacon pieces – optional
Method:
Cook the pasta according to instructions, drain and leave to one side.
Boil the cashews, carrot and potato chunks for 10-15 minutes, until they are fully cooked and can be mashed.
In a blender, pour in the milk, stock, yeast, paprika, onion powder, tapioca (if using), and lemon juice, as well as the cooled vegetables and nuts. Blend until completely smooth.
In one pan, cook the Vivera plant bacon pieces as per instructions.
In another pan, melt the butter and fry the garlic until aromatic but not brown. Pour in the sauce and cook until piping hot. Stir through the macaroni and bacon pieces.
Serve piping hot.