Although we're not vegan, I do like to create vegan dishes from time to time, especially when I am using up what we already have in our fridge and pantry. It also happens that Hannah Fagadau's birthday was yesterday, and she is lactose intolerant, so this is another way I am able to celebrate her. Happy birthday!!
Usually, a vegan cheese sauce consists of cashews (soaked overnight but I have a confession, I never remember to soak them, and to be honest it doesn't matter, but I digress...). To be a little different I decided to use white beans and, wow! I was very impressed. I do love a cashew cheese sauce, so I'll be creating a taco recipe with vegan cream sauce soon for the blog!
Yields 4 servings
Ingredients:
Pasta and veggies:
1 box of Banza Rigatoni or pasta of your choice
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
Pepper
Sauce:
2 cans of cannellini beans, rinsed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of pasta water
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast (seems like a lot, but trust me)
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
Kosher salt
Pepper
Topping:
1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted* water, stirring occasionally, until al
dente, about 7 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put the broccoli into a skillet with 1/4 cup of water with a tight lid on
top, and allow it to steam for 4 minutes.
4. Once the broccoli is done, remove it from the heat and pour it into a clean bowl.
Mix with the lemon zest, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, olive oil, kosher salt, and
pepper
5. For the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until
combined. Adjust seasoning according to your taste.
6. Stir the pasta, broccoli, and sauce together. Pour the filling into an oven-safe
dish.
7. To create the topping, pour the ingredients into a small bowl and stir to combine.
8. Sprinkle on top of your "mac and cheese" and place the dish in the oven for 15
minutes to toast the top. Enjoy!
*Hot tip: properly salted pasta water should taste like the sea
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