A few months back I had a wonderful idea. I was testing out a vegan moussaka recipe from one of my all-time favourite cookbooks, Green Kitchen Travels, and as I was whisking the vegan béchamel sauce I had a wonderful thought. Since I am a fairly busy person, I have not had the time to test out this idea until a few days ago. My wonderful idea was to take the creamy-dreamy sauce from the vegan moussaka and alter it to make a delicious mac n’ cheese style sauce.

As you know, I am not a consumer of any dairy or wheat products, so this recipe is 100% dairy free, vegan and gluten free (if you wish). I’ve made vegan mac n’ cheese before, but I always found that something wasn’t quite right. Most likely it was the fact that the “cheese” was made from squash. Don’t get me wrong, the “squash cheese” variety of vegan mac n’ cheese is still very good, it’s just not very mac n’ cheesy if you know what I mean.

Back in the old days before I cut wheat and dairy my mom used to make this wonderful mac n’ cheese that was to die for. It was so creamy and delicious. It had ham and homemade croutons on the top and oh my goodness it was so good! If you’re interested in this recipe it can be found in the In My Mother’s Kitchen book by Trish Magwood. If you are not gluten/ dairy free I strongly suggest that you try this recipe.

Anyways, when I had this wonderful idea to create my own spin on vegan mac n’ cheese I made sure that I did my research. On Wednesday night when I creating this recipe late into the evening I used recipes from In My Bowl, In My Mother’s Kitchen, and of course the vegan béchamel sauce from Green Kitchen Travels as references to create, in my opinion, a perfect vegan/ gluten free mac n’ cheese recipe.

Initial I did not add a topping to this recipe, but once it was in the oven I thought that I better whip up something to throw on top that would get crispy and delicious just like the croutons  in the recipe my mom used to make.

xx

-Ashley

Ultimate Mac n’ Cheese

Serves 6

3 cups gluten free macaroni noodles, or noodles of choice

For the Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup chickpea flour

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Sea salt and fresh pepper, to taste

Crumble Topping

3/4 cup oats

1/3 cup pecans

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of ground chipotle

Sea salt and fresh pepper, to taste

• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Heat olive oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat. While the oil is heating, measure the almond milk and stir in the nutritional yeast so that it dissolves. Once the oil is heated, add the chickpea flour and whisk constantly until the flour begins to brown slightly.
• Pour in the almond milk mixture and whisk. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, continuing to whisk periodically. Add the spices, mustard and vinegar and continue to whisk. Once it has thickened, remove the sauce from the heat.
• While the sauce is thickening, bring about 6 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add in the macaroni noodles and cook according to package instructions. Once cooked, strain and set aside.
• Pour the noodles into a round casserole dish then pour the sauce over the noodles and give the whole thing a good mix.
• In a food processor combine the crumble ingredients and pulse until crumbly. Sprinkle over the noodles,then bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Broil for a further 2-3 minutes, or until the topping is nicely browned.

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