Recipe: Vegan macaroni cheese

Baked Macaroni Cheese with Broccoli and Cauliflower [4-6]

Yes! I've finally veganised this classic comfort dish and it's pretty damn fine, if I say so myself ;) Settle down in your PJs infront of the telly on a rainy day and enjoy...

Chantal xx

 

classic favourite comfort food made cruelty-free

Gather:

230g macaroni

150g cauliflower florets

100g broccoli florets

Sauce:

225g firm tofu

375ml plant based milk (I used oat)

325ml veg stock (I used water + 1 tsp swiss veg boullion)

40g nutritional yeast flakes

5 tsp corn flour

Juice of half a lemon (approx 2 tbsp)

1 tsp yellow mustard

1 tsp garlic granules

1 tsp onion granules

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp white pepper

50g panko crumbs

Create:

Boil the kettle, weigh out your pasta and prep your veg. Boil the pasta in a large pan for 2 minutes then add the cauliflower and boil for another 2 minutes, then the broccoli and boil for 1 minute.

Drain the pasta and vegetables and leave to one side.

Add all of the sauce ingredients to a blender and blitz for at least 2 minutes and until perfectly smooth. Taste and season if required.

Add the pasta, veg and sauce to a very large bowl and mix to combine – then pour into a large baking dish. [It may seem like too much liquid, but the pasta will absorb some and it will thicken up while baking.]

Sprinkle the panko crumbs evenly over the top.

Bake in the oven at 170C [fan] for approx 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. You can further brown under the grill if required.

serves 6, or 4 if you're ravenous!

Enjoy:

Great served with a home-made coleslaw or some fresh tomatoes.

Recipe: BBQ pulled 'pork' sandwich - Vegan-style!

Here's the thing:- when I used to eat meat, like millions of other people, I was pretty partial to something called a 'pulled pork sandwich'. Since I've been Vegan I've actually found that I very rarely miss eating meat or fish - but, just occasionally, my mind would wander back to my carnivorous years - and this is one of the dishes it would linger over.

However, what I've discovered in my 13 months (yay!) of cooking 100's of Vegan meals, is that many meat dishes actually get their flavour from the delicious herbs, spices and veggies that they're cooked with. THIS one is a prime example. 

So I have no qualms in recreating dishes that emulate traditional meaty ones, because much of the time it's not so much the meat that was loved, but the flavours that went with that meat... 

... and I've now seen that these Veganised dishes can lure many a non-Vegan into the lifestyle, because it helps them to realise they'll miss nothing, food-wise, at all.

And that has to be great news for them, for the animals and our planet.

Read, salivate and make it for non-Vegan friends ;)

Much love to you xx

BBQ pulled 'pork' sandwich - Vegan-Style!

Serves 4-6 depending on how hungry you are ;)

So unbelievably tasty!

Gather:

1 tbsp oil (veg, rapeseed, olive etc)

1 medium onion – quartered and thinly sliced

2 tbsp garlic puree (or approx 8 cloves garlic – crushed)

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp creamed horseradish sauce

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp agave syrup or unrefined brown sugar

Zest of half a lemon (make sure its unwaxed)

*[1 red chilli - deseeded and thinly sliced – optional, for heat lovers]

1 tin chopped plum tomatoes

2 tins braised gluten (mock ‘duck’) - drained, patted dry & shredded OR a large punnet of shiitake mushrooms - shredded into strips OR even 225g tempeh- shredded into strips

Salt and pepper to taste

#Bread rolls to serve

#Coleslaw and salad for the side

Create:

1.  Gently fry the onions in a pan with the oil over a low/medium heat for 5 mins or until soft.

2.  Add the garlic and fry for a further 2 mins.

3.  Add all of the other seasoning ingredients (except the tinned tomatoes & ‘meat’ of choice) and fry for a further 2 minutes – stirring constantly.

4.  Add the tomatoes and simmer gently over a very low heat for 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

5.  Add a little water if the mixture appears too dry, add the gluten, mushrooms or tempeh and simmer for a further 5 minutes to warm through.

Sticky BBQ lusciousness!

Enjoy:

Serve on hot toasted rolls (I used ciabatta) topped with homemade coleslaw and a fresh salad on the side! p.s. it’s great with a hot chilli sauce added too.

Cooks tips:

Coleslaw: For this recipe I used a combination of the classic ½ small white cabbage - shredded, 1 red onion – very finely sliced and 3 large carrots – grated, all seasoned with white pepper and mixed with Plamil egg-free mayonnaise.

Salad: totally ‘old school’ with shredded iceberg, tomatoes and cucumber! So it was just like my favourite from somewhere like Hardrock Café!

Crisp fresh 'old school' salad on the side ;)