This recipe comes from a TV Show I stumbled upon: “Tom Kerridge’s Fresh Start”. Kerridge is an inspirational chef from the UK who works with families on this show to get them cooking healthy food at home. Lately I have been seeking out these kind of cooking shows for inspiration and this one is really good! This recipe is not actually vegan, but I made a couple of quick swaps and turned it vegan.
Ingredients:
1 kg butternut squash
1 Tbsp olive oil
500g macaroni
Salt and pepper
60g vegan margarine
60g All-purpose flour
½ to ¾ litre plain unsweetened plant milk
¼ tsp nutmeg
Cherry tomatoes, chopped
50g vegan breadcrumbs or French’s fried onions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and cut the butternut squash into smallish chunks (1 inch chunks). Coat the squash with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the chunks get that lovely caramelization on the edges.
Put ¾ of the squash in a blender and blend it up until smooth.
Place the macaroni in boiling water and boil until al dente, a couple of minutes less than indicated on the package.
In a separate saucepan, melt the vegan margarine over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Whisk in the plant milk and heat, stirring with a whisk constantly. Once a nice sauce has formed, add in the butternut squash puree. At this point, it would also be nice to melt in a little vegan cheese or add some vegan parmesan to kick up the flavour.
Drain the macaroni, and add it to the prepared sauce. Mix well.
Pour into a 9 X 13” baking pan.
Spread evenly, then add the reserved baked squash chunks, the tomatoes and breadcrumbs or French’s onions.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and enjoy!
Simplicity rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is actually much easier than it seems!
Vegan rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is a great dish, as long as you are not expecting it to taste like mac and cheese. I think if I make this again I will stir in some vegan cheese either as I’m making the sauce or when I transfer it to the pan.
Carnivore rating: ⭐⭐⭐ He knows what mac and cheese tastes like, and this is too far from that…
Kid rating: ⭐⭐⭐ “Pretty good.”
I enjoyed the butternut squash element and loved the puree it made after roasting….this may open up possibilities!
If you get a chance, check out Tom Kerridge’s recipes – great tastes and ideas...and easy to make vegan!
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