Pumpkin mac n cheese

 

New contender for best cheese sauce ever - it even fronts up against my all-time classic favourite Hurry-Up Alfredo!

Most amazing thing was that I didn't change ANYTHING.  Maybe the spoonful of miso was 'heaped' but that's it.  Fuck.  I'm awed.

Served it with roasted kale chips and cashew parmesan.  Lockdown life.  Onwards. x

(via https://rainbowplantlife.com/)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small sugar pumpkin (aka “pie pumpkin”), or 1 small butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds or 1 kg)*
• Olive oil or avocado oil, for roasting
• 1/2 cup (~60g) raw cashews, soaked in cool water overnight or for 1 hour in boiling water**
• 1/2 cup (40g) nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder (optional but adds a nice sharp tangy flavor)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (can substitute ground, but the flavor is much better with fresh)
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt + more to taste
• Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon mellow white or yellow miso paste
• 1 tablespoon tapioca flour or cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup (240mL) canned “lite” coconut milk***
• 10 ounces (280g) of rigatoni pasta, medium-sized macaroni shells, or pasta of your choice

INSTRUCTIONS

• To cook the pumpkin or butternut squash in the oven, use a very sharp knife to slice the pumpkin or butternut squash in half, then scoop out the seeds and stringy bits using a spoon. If the vegetable is too thick or hard to cut, pop it in the microwave for 60-90 seconds to soften. For roasting, follow step 2; for steaming, follow step 3.
• To roast the pumpkin or butternut squash in the oven, preheat the oven to 425°F (or 218°C). Drizzle the pumpkin or squash halves with a bit of olive oil or avocado and season with salt and pepper. Place the halves, flesh side down, on a parchment paper-lined or aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Roast in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until completely tender and lightly browned (pumpkin should take about 30 minutes; butternut squash closer to 40 minutes). Once the pumpkin or squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.
• To steam the pumpkin or butternut squash in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, pour 1 cup of water into the inner cooking pot and lower a compatible steamer rack or the trivet that comes with the Instant Pot into the inner pot. Place the pumpkin or squash halves in the basket or on top of the trivet, close the lid, and pressure cook at high pressure for 12-14 minutes. Once the timer is up, perform a quick pressure release by manually releasing the steam valve. Once the pumpkin or squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.
• While the squash is cooking, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and salt generously. Cook the pasta according to the box directions until al dente and drain in a colander.
• Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the roasted or steamed pumpkin or butternut squash flesh. Reserve the rest for another use, such as a curry, soup, or side dish.
• In a high-powered blender, add the 1 1/2 cups of the pumpkin or squash flesh. Add in the soaked and drained cashews, nutritional yeast, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, nutmeg, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, black pepper to taste, miso paste, tapioca flour or cornstarch, lemon juice, and lite coconut milk. Blend until the sauce is completely smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly, adding more salt as needed, more miso paste for more umami, or more lemon juice for more acidity.
• Return the cooked and drained pasta back to the saucepan and add the cheese sauce. Heat over medium heat until the sauce is well combined with the pasta and warmed through. Season the mac and cheese to taste.

White miso and tofu ramen with chilli garlic asparagus.

A beautiful, creamy, comforting, salty broth that warmed us on a wintry night. I used a bit less than the 1litre of milk just to keep it richer.  Also marinated the tofu all day before pan-frying, because flavour.  x 

White miso and tofu ramen with chilli garlic asparagus

You’ll need a blender to make this. You can buy podded and frozen edamame beans in big supermarkets; any leftover miso-tahini paste is great in a salad dressing.

Prep 10 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 4

For the noodles
4 tbsp dried shiitake mushrooms
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
150g white miso paste, or 6 tbsp (I like Clearspring)
1 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp konbu powder (optional)
1 litre soy milk (Bon Soy is particularly good)
Salt
250g soba noodles (again, I use Clearspring)

For the tofu and asparagus
Rapeseed oil
250g fine asparagus
100g edamame beans, defrosted
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
½ tsp chilli flakes
⅓ tsp salt
½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
280g extra-firm tofu, cut into 0.5cm-thick slices
1 tbsp soy sauce

Put the shiitake in a heatproof bowl, cover with 200ml just-boiled water and leave to soak for five minutes. In a blender, blitz the mushrooms and their soaking liquid with the onion, garlic, ginger, miso, tahini, oil, soy sauce and konbu powder.

Heat a nonstick frying pan on a medium heat and, when hot, scrape the paste out of the blender and into the pan. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the milk, little by little, until it’s all mixed in – make sure it doesn’t boil, or it may curdle – then add salt, if need be, and take off the heat.

Next, cook the noodles to the packet instructions, drain, rinse under cold water and drain again.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over a high flame. When it’s smoking hot, throw in the asparagus and edamame, leave for a minute, then turn and leave for a minute more, so both char a little. Add the garlic, chilli, salt and lemon juice to the pan, stir for a minute, then transfer to a bowl.

In the same pan, heat another tablespoon of oil, if need be, then fry the tofu for a minute on each side, until golden and crisp (when it’s ready, you’ll be able to turn the slices easily with a spatula). Add the soy sauce for the last minute, then transfer to the asparagus bowl.

To assemble, divide the noodles between four bowls. Reheat the miso soup, if you need to, and share among the bowls. Lay some tofu slices to one side of each bowl, share out the asparagus and edamame beans evenly, and serve hot.

Bibimbap!

 

Made this mince to have with san choy bow for lunch and it was fucking great.  That's all. x

UPDATE: Definitely double the mince/sauce ingredients!

Vegan Bibimbap with Bulgogi Mince ★★★★★1 review

Bibimbap means “mixed rice” in Korean and is a dish traditionally made from leftover vegetables, rice, and protein with the addition of Gochujang paste - a Korean fermented red chilli paste.

INGREDIENTS

Bulgogi Mince:

• 2 cups TVP (DRY - learned this lesson the hard way lol) (no need to double this, I've adjusted in an edit)
• 8 Shiitake mushrooms, sliced 

Marinade:

• 350ml mushroom/vegetable stock (this is about 1 and 1/4 cups, double all for double recipe)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Red pepper sauce:

• 2 tablespoons Gochujang paste
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

To Serve:

• Carrot, Cucumber, Kimchi, 2 cups cooked rice, sesame seeds

 

METHOD

1. In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the bulgogi marinade.
2. In a pan on medium heat, add the mince, mushroom and marinade
3. Bring to a boil and then reduce down to a simmer for 6-8 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed by the mince & mushrooms
4. In the meantime, mix together the ingredients for the Red Pepper sauce until smooth
5. Assembly: start with a base of rice, then top with the vegetables, kimchi, mince and finally a drizzle of the sauce. Enjoy warm!