Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese with Black Pepper & Broccoli
Author:Potato-carrot cheese sauce is the thing these days. My version of this sauce is creamy, filled with vegetables, and loaded with black pepper. What makes this sauce different, you may ask? It’s the black pepper: add black pepper and then, when you think that should be enough, add some more.
Ingredients
- 600 mls / 2 ½ cups water
- 1 medium potato , peeled and cubed
- 50g / ⅓ cup carrots , chopped
- 4 cloves garlic , chopped, or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 3 tablespoons onion , chopped, or use ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ small green chile (optional)
- 1 small tomato , chopped
- 30g / ¼ cup raw cashews , or macadamias (or 1/4 cup pepitas to make nut-free)
- 225g / 2 ½ cups broccoli , chopped
- ¾ teaspoon prepared mustard
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce , or tamari (or coconut aminos to make soy-free)
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , omit to make oil-free
- ¾ teaspoon salt , or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon sriracha sauce (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper , or to taste, divided
- 10 - 12 ounces cooked elbow pasta , gluten-free if necessary
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, combine the water, potato, carrots, garlic, onion, chile (if using), tomato, and cashews. Cover the skillet and cook 18 to 20 minutes, or until the potato is very tender. Let the mixture cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Drain the broccoli and set aside. Then cook the macaroni as per the instructions on the packaging. Usually it's for around 8 - 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can add the broccoli to the cooking pasta pot in the last two minutes.
- Combine the potato mixture (along with its liquid), mustard, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, oil, paprika, and sriracha (if using) in a blender. Blend for 1 minute, let the mixture rest for 1 minute, and blend again until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture to the saucepan over medium heat. Add the salt, white pepper, and ½ teaspoon of the black pepper, stirring to combine. Add some additional water to adjust the consistency if the sauce is too thick.
- Bring the sauce almost to a boil. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add the elbow pasta and broccoli. Stir to combine, cover the saucepan, and cook for 3 minutes. Let the mixture sit for 2 minutes. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon black pepper. Sprinkle some more pepper on each serving, if desired.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Calories: 350kcal
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
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