Another make ahead freezer meal to help me survive those difficult days during quarantine:
Ingredients: (serves 4-5)
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 Tbs tomato paste
- 3 Tbs Dijon mustard (I only had yellow mustard. Still worked!)
- 2 Tbs nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups milk (I used almond milk)
- One head of cauliflower, trimmed
- 1 cup raw cashews (If you can only find cooked/salted that’s fine too. Just decrease the amount of salt to 1/2 tsp.)
- 16 oz macaroni noodles (or shells)
- 1 cup bread crumbs (panko works best)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Parsley
Directions:
- Heat the olive oil, tomato paste, and mustard in a large saucepan over medium heat, mixing well.
- Add the nutritional yeast, turmeric, salt, paprika, and garlic powder. Continue to cook for about a minute while stirring constantly. This should make a thick paste/roux. *Picture below*
- Add the milk one cup at a time, constantly stirring.
- Add the cauliflower and cashews. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and allow to simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Start the water for the pasta. Once you get a rolling boil, add the pasta. Cook for one minute less than the al dente instructions. Drain the pasta.
- Carefully! Scoop the cauliflower/cashew/milk mixture into a blender. Work in batches being careful not to overfill. You do not want hot liquid spraying out of your blender. Blend until smooth and no cauliflower or cashew pieces are left.
- Mix the cauliflower sauce with the noodles. It should seem a little too watery. That’s okay. The noodles will absorb some of the liquid.
- Mix your breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup olive oil together in a small bowl.
- Give your pasta another mix. Then, add it to a casserole dish.
- Sprinkle your breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top of your pasta.
- *If planning on freezing, now is the time.*
- Sprinkle parsley flakes on top.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the breadcrumbs brown and crisp.
I actually made a double batch of this. I used a really large head of cauliflower and doubled the rest of the ingredients. It turned out great! Only it seems like it made three meals instead of two. Good thing it’s a hit with the three year old.
Misfit 