I've got another recipe for you!
Let me preface this though, this recipe is not for those who are expecting the "traditional" orange goopy super unhealthy macaroni and cheese. I'll save that recipe for another time. Since it's not traditional, I opted out of using macaroni pasta since fusilli is so much fancier (not really).
This recipe was also my attempt to make a cheese sauce out of tofu. Yes, tofu.
Don't worry, it's not that scary! :'D
I didn't want to use the traditional thickening method of adding roux (flour + butter) to cream in order to make the cheese sauce.
So, I trolled tons of vegan sites to try to find a substitute medium and the answer was soft tofu. This recipe is completely dairy free mainly because I'm slightly lactose intolerant (the boyfriend is even more lactose intolerant), so having tons of cheese and cream = a bad time.
OK, enough with the text...time for the food!
INGREDIENTS
- salt
- pepper
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
- 1 large portobello mushroom
- 1/2 cup of milk (soy milk)
- 2 cups of cheddar cheese (soy cheese)
- 1 package of silken tofu (if you can’t find silken tofu, use soft tofu and run it through a food processor until smooth)
- 1 bag of fusilli pasta
- 1 1/2 lbs of italian sausage
- OPTIONAL: chopped green onions
If you don't like soy, please feel free to use regular milk and regular cheddar cheese.
PROCEDURE
Prep work should take about 20 minutes. Cook time should be about 35 - 40 minutes. This will make 6 servings.
- Set water to boil. Once water begins to boil, add your pasta and let cook for about 8 minutes.
- Drain pasta when done and set aside.
- Place silken tofu in a small bowl.
- Mix until smooth with a whisk.
- Add salt, pepper, paprika and cumin into the silken tofu mixture.
- Add milk to the tofu mixture and combine thoroughly.
- Pour tofu mixture into a pot and place on medium heat.
- Once the tofu mixture begins to bubble, add your cheese in small batches. Stir mixture after each round of cheese in order to thoroughly combine and melt cheese. Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally.
- Place a skillet on high heat.
- Cook sausages for about 5 – 6 minutes on each side.
- When sausages are fully cooked, remove from heat and let cool. Do not clean this pan — the remaining oil will be used to sautee the mushrooms.
- Slice sausages into 1/2 inch diagonal cuts and set aside.
- Chop portobello mushroom into small pieces.
- Set skillet on high heat.
- Sautee mushrooms in the sausage fat. Remove from heat once the mushrooms begin to take on a caramel color.
- Combine portobello mushrooms with cheese sauce.
- Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir to combine.
- Place sausages over the pasta and serve. (OPTIONAL: garnish with green onions)
- Eat!
And here's what you get!
It's not the prettiest, but it was very tasty. :D You can't taste the soy at all.
For more pictures, check out my website here. Or, like the facebook page here.
I've got some more recipes that I'm working on, including Tiramisu and Beef Stroganoff.
Anyways, thanks for reading TL! Happy eating. <3