It’s creamy, it’s cheesy, it’s a satisfying bowl of carbs – but it’s all based on veg that’s begging to be used from the bottom of the fridge. This recipe has been a life saver for me when we really need to go to the shops and all we have in the fridge is odds and ends of old veggies. Brought together that old veg can make something extraordinary with out really much effort or tie spent. I also like to tell myself it’s much healthier than your typical non-vegan mac & cheese as it actually contains some vegetables!
A lot of this recipe is really quite forgiving so feel free to make it work around what you have. It’s ideal for the bulb ends of the butternut squash which so often I leave till last because they’re extra work to prepare, no need to peel and if the odd seed makes it into the sauce, no one will notice.
It’s vegan, it’s gluten free, but I’m afraid I haven’t been able to find any nut free substitutes on this one! Even so, I hope those of you who can have it, enjoy it as much as we have.
- Makes: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 200g Potatoes, scrubbed
- 70g Butternut Squash, no need to peel
- 70g Onion, this is normally about half an onion
- 2 small Garlic Cloves, peeled (or 1 large)
- 75g Cashews, soaked
- 60ml Coconut milk
- 180ml Water or Stock
- 2 1/2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 285g Pasta, we use Gluten Free
- 2 slices of Gluten Free bread
Directions
Preheat your oven to 200 C/ 190 Fan/ 400 F.
You’re going to be blending everything together eventually so you don’t need to be too careful about being pretty with your vegetables. Very roughly chop your fresh vegetables, leaving your garlic cloves whole. Simmer for 15 mins in a small pan until they’re nice and soft.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta for maybe a minute less than you normally would. Reserve about a quarter cup of pasta water to one side, drain the pasta and place in a large casserole dish to wait for it’s sauce.
Blend your gluten free bread into breadcrumbs and set to one side. Rinse out your blender.
Place your simmered veg into the blender along with all the rest of your unused ingredients. You can use the water from the veg for your water here – the extra infusion of flavour and starch from the potatoes will actually help the consistency of the sauce. Blend until completely smooth.
Mix your sauce together with the pasta along with your reserved pasta water. Be gentle so you don’t mash up the fragile pasta but try to make sure it’s fully combined – you really don’t want a little pockets of dry pasta. Top with your breadcrumbs and place into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the breadcrumbs have turned golden brown.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Sometimes I like to toss a few spices on my breadcrumbs just before baking, paprika, chilli flakes, and tumeric all work well here. Just see how you’re feeling.
Allergy Notes; To make this gluten free, just use GF pasta and bread per the note above. Unfortunately, this recipe is just not friendly to those with a nut allergy due to the cashews – sorry about that one!
