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MAC N CHEESE WITH LEEKS, BACON AND CRISPY KALE

Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: christmas, comfort food, festive recipes, vegan
Servings: 1 hefty or 2 portions

Ingredients

Cheese sauce

  • 3 cups 300g cauliflower florets chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1.5 cups 210g cashews
  • 3 cups 700ml unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 4 tbsp white miso
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp himalayan salt
  • White pepper
  • 1 large leek halved then thinly sliced
  • 100 g gluten free macaroni pasta I used Sainsbury's free from

Crispy kale

  • 2 cups kale torn into pieces
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried sage
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • Salt + pepper

Tempeh bacon

  • 1 Better nature tempeh bacon, you're fave bacon product or my homemade tempeh bacon:
  • 200g g rectangular tempeh block slice into 9 pieces
  • 1/2 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1.5 tbsp tamari soy
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

Kale

  • Preheat oven to 180c
  • Mix all kale ingredients in a bowl making sure the kale is fully coated. Spread out on a large baking tray. Bake for 5 mins or until crisp. (It burns so quickly and easy so don't leave unattended!)

Cheese sauce

  • On a medium heat sweat the leek in 1 tbsp of oil till soft, around 8-10 mins.
  • While the leek is cooking, in a medium saucepan bung in the oil + mustard + miso + garlic. Cook for 2 mins.
  • Add in the almond milk, cauliflower and cashews. Simmer on medium heat for 20 mins or until the cauliflower is completely soft.
  • Bung into a high power blender and blitz till smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding more almond milk to thin down if too thick.
  • While sauce is simmering cook macoroni in salted boiling water to packet instructions.

Tempeh bacon

  • Lay tempeh slices in a container with a large surface area. Whisk all other ingredients together and pour over tempeh. Toss to coat evenly. Marinade in fridge for at least 30 mins or up to overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 200c. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Flip tempeh back in the marinade and then pop onto baking tray in an even layer (reserving marinade)
  • Bake for 10 mins, remove from oven, brush heavily with reserved marinade, flip and repeat. Bake for another 10 mins or until browned. Once cooled chop into 1/2 inch cubes. This can be done in advance (you only need 1/2 of the bacon for this recipe)

Assembly

  • Mix leek into the cheese sauce. Add tempeh bacon and pour sauce gradually into cooked macaroni till nicely coated and saucey. There will be about 3/4 sauce left which can be frozen or used in cauliflower cheese for example!
  • Pile into bowls, top with crispy kale and devour!

Notes

Tempeh bacon can be made in advanced and reheated in a frying pan. 
Cheese sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days or can be frozen.