Beet Mac and Cheese

You know what they say, you eat with your eyes first. This beautiful beet Mac and cheese doesn’t lack in any department. It’s my take on a traditional comfort food that pairs the earthy sweetness of beets with a rich, dairy-free cheese sauce to produce an aesthetically pleasing and satisfying dish. This dish is a treat for the senses and is also a great option for vegans or anyone interested in trying plant-based alternatives. Please don’t come after me because I am calling this Mac and “Cheese”. I did think of Mac and Beet but that sounds like a sitcom. Regardless of what it’s called, it’s velvety, rich, and savory without making you feel lethargic afterward.
Though it may seem like a long list of ingredients to go through at first glance, A lot of the ingredients listed are actually spices. So you’ll be using a bit of each. The spices listed here are what I consider essentials to have in your pantry. An ingredient not many people might be familiar with is nutritional yeast. It packs a lot of flavor, so I suggest you get in the habit of using it as fast as possible! For the beets, I prefer to roast them rather than boil them because they don’t lose any flavor or color. The crunchy topping is also something you don’t want to skip. I made my own breadcrumbs because I had stale bread that I needed to use but storebought works well too.

Prep Time

12 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour

Serving:

2-3 portions

Labels:

Ingredients

1 cup cashews
1 large beet
1 small bulb of garlic
1.5 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp onion flakes
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
250g pasta
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp ketchup
1 tsp BBQ sauce
1 tsp mustard
Topping:

1 ½ cup breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp chopped parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp onion flakes

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Soak the cashews in hot water and set aside. Wash and peel the beetroot, chop into cubes, and place on a lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt, roast for 40 minutes or until fork tender. Wash and wrap a small bulb of garlic with aluminum foil and bake it with the beetroot.

2. For the breadcrumb topping, I baked stale white bread with the beets and crumbled them. You can make the breadcrumbs at home or use store-bought.2. Chop 2 gloves of garlic, along with a small handful of parsley, set aside. Zest half a lemon, and set aside. Heat up the olive oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic, parsley, and lemon zest. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add all the seasonings listed and sauté for another 10-20 seconds. Off heat, add the breadcrumbs and nutritional yeast, mix, and set aside.

3. Boil a pot of water with plenty of salt. Add in your pasta and drain once the pasta is al dente, mine took 9 minutes. Save the pasta water.

4. In a pot, heat up 3 tbsp of olive oil and add all the seasonings listed. Once fragrant, around 30 seconds, add the AP flour. Sauté the flour for 2 minutes on low-medium heat. Slowly add 2 cups of pasta water in ½ cup intervals, mixing between each interval. Cook the roux mixture for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened, it should still have a runny consistency.

5. Once the beetroot and garlic are roasted, add them to the pot, along with the soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, and vinegar. Use an immersion blender to blend everything until silky smooth. Alternatively, you can use a blender. If the mixture is too thick, use more pasta water to adjust the consistency. Taste for salt and acidity, adjust as needed. Once the sauce is to your liking, toss in the cooked pasta and mix until the noodles are well coated.

6. Grease a baking dish and add in the Mac and cheese. Top with the breadcrumb mixture we made earlier and bake at 200C(400F) for 15 minutes.

Voila! Enjoy digging into a thick, velvety, colorful mac and cheese that is filled with wholesome ingredients.