I have tried numerous vegan recipes for macaroni and ‘cheese’ but none have been worthy of making a second time. Tonight I tried combining vegetables and nut cheese with spices and this is the my best attempt so far! For the vegetable base, I used a carrot tonight and it added some sweetness. However using cauliflower would provide a smooth texture and may enhance the spices because of its neutral flavour.

I avoid nutritional yeast and soy so this spice mix works pretty well to give the depth of flavour a strong cheese has. It’s not perfect but it’s getting there… Any suggestions are MOST welcome!! Comment below!!

Vegan Macaroni And ‘Cheese’

Ingredients

60 grams organic cassava elbows (per serving)

1 carrot (or the equivalent amount of cauliflower)

1/3 cup cashew nut ‘cream cheese’ (for recipe see blog dated 9 February 2022)

1/4 cup filtered water from cooking carrots (or more for a thinner consistency)

1/2 tsp Herbies umami seasoning (contains porcini mushroom powder, black garlic powder, sweet paprika, tomato powder, salt, garlic and onion powders)

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp chilli flakes

1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Method

Trim and chop carrot; bring water to a boil in a small pot with lid. Add carrot and cook until a fork pierces through with some ease. Add carrots and 1/4 cup of the cooking water to a blender along with the cashew nut ‘cream cheese’ and all the spices. Run until very smooth.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the cassava elbows. Cook for 11 minutes or according to the package instructions.

Drain the pasta and add a couple of generous spoonfuls of ‘cheese’ sauce. Top with scallions and enjoy!