Mac & Cheese? Yes please! Baked Mac & Cheese? Oh yes, yes, yes!
The thing is, I generally cannot eat mac and cheese. Milk just doesn't sit well with me. And while I don't avoid gluten ALL THE TIME, I find the combo of MILK + WHEAT positively cramp-inducing, energy-sucking and mood-altering (in a bad way). So unless it's pizza, it's really not worth the pain, even for a delightful bowl of good old fashioned mac & cheese. Unless, of course, it contains no milk or gluten AND IT TASTES EXTREMELY GOOD.
This one fits the bill.
Now...
This Mac & Cheese is milk free, but it's not dairy free. There is a big difference between milk and cheese. A good quality, aged cheese has been fermented. It contains bacterial cultures and microbial enzymes that have pre-digested much of the carbohydrates and sugars in the milk, making it almost completely lactose free. Many cheeses are far more digestible than milk and cream; most folks can tolerate quality cheeses, good yogurts and kefir far better than they can milk. I fit into that little space. I don't eat a dairy free diet, but the dairy that I do eat must, must MUST be of good quality. This is a perfect example of why labelling yourself, diet-wise, can be tremendously limiting. Often times, the quality of the food, the way it was grown & harvested and then prepared can make a huge difference to the effect it has on your body.
So this recipe contains a little bit of good quality aged white cheddar. It's combined with soaked cashews, chicken stock and nutritional yeast to create the most luscious, creamy, cheesy sauce you can imagine. When baked, it clings to those lovely little tubes in the exact same way a traditional sauce does. The noodles and the sauce become one gooey, decadent and delicious comfort meal.
This recipe can be made completely vegan by simply omitting the cheese, using veggie or mushroom broth and upping the nutritional yeast. The sauce alone also makes a delicious veggie sauce. Wonderful over cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potatoes (a scalloped potato sauce!), green beans, etc, etc..
Start by prepping 1/2 lb (dry) of your favourite pasta. Cook it according to the package directions. I love GoGo Quinoa's Rice & Quinoa pasta, it's completely indistinguishable from wheat-based pastas (great for picky kiddos) and holds up really well in baked dishes.
While your pasta's cooking, saute about 1/2 of a large sweet onion with some garlic (or, in my case, garlic powder) and salt in a couple tbsp of oil. I'm using duck fat; you can go ahead and use olive oil, avocado oil, butter or lard. Cook until the onions become soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.
When the onions have softened, measure 2 cups of chicken or veggie broth, adding about 1 3/4 cups to the pot.
Set the remaining 1/4 cup aside (you're going to add a bit of arrowroot starch to this).
Simmer for a few minutes, just to soften things up a bit more.
Combine the broth + 1 cup of soaked cashews in a good blender.
Puree until smooth and return to the sauce pan.
You can now add 2 tbsp of arrowroot powder to your reserved broth. Whisk to combine, ensuring there are no lumps.
Over low heat, pour the arrowroot mixture into the cashew sauce. Whisk and continue to heat on low. The sauce should start to thicken quite quickly.
Add one cup of beautiful shredded cheese and whisk.
Add 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast (about 5 tbsp if you're omitting the cheese). This is going to intensify the cheesy flavour, as we've only added about half the of the cheese that a conventional mac & cheese recipe would call for (while cheese certainly isn't the worst, we don't want to over-do it).
Whisk all of this together and gently heat until the cheese has melted, and it just starts to bubble, about 4 minutes.
Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in a pinch of mustard. Now is a good time to give it a taste and adjust the seasoning as you see fit.
Your noodles should be cooked, drained and awaiting their delicious sauce.
Pour the sauce over the noodles. Every. Last. Drop.
Stir to combine.
Finish it with some freshly ground black pepper, cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
And when it's ready...
It'll be gooey, creamy, cheesy and completely delicious. A barely dairy mac & cheese.
Incredible!
Baked Mac & Cheese
- 1/2 lb of your favourite pasta
- 2 tbsp oil (butter, olive oil, avocado oil, lard or duck fat)
- 1/2 large sweet onion
- 3 cloves garlic or 2 tsp garlic powder
- Pinch of sea salt
- 2 cups, divided chicken or veggie broth
- 1 cup soaked cashews (soaked in filtered water, in the fridge for 6 hours to over night)
- 1 cup shredded aged cheddar cheese
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (5 - 6 tbsp if you're going dairy free)
- 2 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 1/2 tsp mustard
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and place in a casserole dish
- In a heavy sauce pan, saute the onion and garlic in 2 tbsp of oil until soft, about 8 minutes
- Add 1 3/4 cups of broth, gently heat for about 5 minutes
- Blend the broth + onions with 1 cup of soft cashews until smooth, return to pot
- Whisk 2 tbsp of arrowroot starch into the 1/4 cup of reserved broth
- Add arrowroot + broth to sauce, whisk to combine and heat on low until it begins to thicken and bubbles just begin to form, about 4 - 6 minutes
- Add the shredded cheese and nutritional yeast, stir until melted and combined
- Remove from heat and stir in mustard, taste and adjust seasonings if necessary
- Pour the sauce over the cooked noodles, stir to combine and top with pepper
- Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes
Enjoy!
