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My father was in the candy-making business for his entire adult life. And every year he would attend what the family called The Candyman’s Ball. He would return home from this evening laden with goodies from candy makers around the world. Yes, our house was always a favorite stop for Trick or Treating.
As part of his job, my father purchased huge quantities of sugar, cocoa, milk and other ingredients. Over the years, our family became good friends with his contact for dairy products from Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. In fact, even after my father had died, we kept in touch and Toni knitted a beautiful sweater for my son when he was born. I have saved the sweater for my grandchildren, but sadly, we did finally lose track of one another. However, the fond memories of visits to their home remain.
Every year John would send us a 5-pound wheel of a delicious Pippen Cheese – a kind of cheddar. I always loved when the cheese arrived because it meant that my mother would make her wonderful Mac & Cheese. We’re not talking boxed Mac & Cheese, although that does have its place in the world of food, as most parents of young children can attest. Her Mac & Cheese was a thing of beauty, covered with thick slices of tomato, bread crumbs and cheese on top that would get bubbly and toasty brown.
My Vegan Mac and Cheese is more of an homage to my mother’s wonderful recipe rather an attempt at exact duplication. Like her deep-dish apple pie, it is something best left to my memories.
If you follow my blog, you will know that my husband and I try to eat more and more vegan and vegetarian meals. We do it for both health and personal ethical reasons. With the advent of so many new and really excellent vegan products, you no longer only need to eat beans, tofu and veggies – much as I love them.
While I rarely crave much meat (never did), I do desire a creamy, comforting Mac & Cheese now and then. But it’s really just too rich to be eating much of it at our age. I don’t want to merely live a long life, but a healthy one. So I challenged myself to come up with a delicious vegan version of Mac & Cheese. Of course, I did the usual thing of going online first and checking out available vegan recipes. Then I like to pick and choose things I like from several and ultimately include my own touches.
If you are looking to feed a hungry bunch, you can’t miss with this Vegan Mac & Cheese. All it needs is some good bread and a green salad. A nice glass of wine for the adults wouldn’t be bad either! And while this appears very rich, it is all plant-based fat. So when you crave that silky, creamy Mac & Cheese but worry that maybe your cholesterol says “uh uh” try this version instead.
Recipe
Yield: 6 portions
Ingredients
16 ounces pasta of choice, cooked according to package instruction (Use the shortest time given since this will also bake in the oven. Reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta water for use in the sauce!)
2 cups plain soy milk
2 cups plant-based cream
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1.5 teaspoons ground mustard powder (You could add 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard if you don’t have mustard powder.)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper or to taste
2 rounded teaspoons vegan cream cheese
12 ounces vegan cheese, of choice – shredded (I used a combination of cheeses but you could use all cheddar-style)
5 to 6 Roma tomatoes, thickly sliced
Seasoned dried breadcrumbs (About 1/2 cup, although I didn’t really measure. You’ll scatter as much as you like.)
1/3 cup reserved pasta water
EVOO or melted plant-based butter for drizzling
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium-sized pot, on medium high heat, add all of the sauce ingredients and stir to melt. When the mixture is creamy, remove from the heat and pour over the cooked, drained pasta.
Place in a large, rectangular baking dish which is at least 2-inches deep. Cover the top with slices of tomato. Generously sprinkle the bread crumbs over the tomatoes and drizzle EVOO or melted vegan butter over the top.
Put the pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is bubbly and toasted. (I actually had to place mine under the broiler for a couple of minutes since the oven I am working with in my rental is not the greatest.)
Allow the Mac & Cheese to rest for 15 minutes before serving. This will help everything to come together and will make serving easier. Now enjoy!
