I’m still working my way through this purple cabbage. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Today I decided to try out Vegan Richa’s Mac n cheese sauce that she says is just as nice on vegetables as it is on noodles. Also, it calls for potatoes and carrots, which I also had in my veg box. Also, apologies for the crap photo, this tastes much better than it looks, since it looks like a Halloween tragedy.

Vegan Black Pepper Mac and Cheese with Potato Carrot Cheese Sauce

I’m going to level with you. This does not taste like cheese sauce. It is orange like a cheese sauce and creamy like a cheese sauce (surprisingly creamy, given there is no dairy or non-dairy milk), but it isn’t going to convince anyone that it is a cheese sauce. However, it packs a wonderful umami punch, and we both decided it was a yummy orange-coloured sauce and I thought that it works really well on sautéed cabbage ribbons. I really liked it, would absolutely make it again with cabbage, and would definitely try it with pasta. Here is my slightly modified version of her recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (500 ml) water
• 1 cup chopped potatoes
• 1/3 cup (42.67 g) chopped carrots
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp lemon pepper
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp whole grain mustard
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 3 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 tsp paprika
• Chopped purple cabbage in ribbons

Instructions

• Put water, potato, carrots, garlic, onion, cashews, lemon pepper, and tomato paste in a pot. Cook over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender and break easily. Cool slightly.
• Sauté cabbage over medium/high heat.
• Add the potato mixture to a blender with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. taste and adjust salt and spice.
• Transfer to the pan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Carefully taste and adjust salt, cheesiness (add more nutritional yeast if needed).
• Either pour on cabbage or add the cabbage and mix. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the sauce comes to a good boil and thickens. Let rest for 5 mins.