Be forewarned, I rarely measure anything. Water for grains and leavening agents for baked goods are as close as I come to precision cooking in my kitchen. I’m not a phenomenal baker because of this and triple check all rice instructions with a modicum of success in the end.
Because I rarely measure what I cook, this recipe utilizing The Reaper hot sauce from the latest Fuego Box is entirely done by eye. If you’re not confident adding elements based on familiarity, this is probably a nightmare. But if you think about it, how many recipes on the Internet have to attempted then rejected because it was too much of something and woefully lacking everything else? Exactly.
I embrace my chaotic cooking as a break from the monotony of carefully measured spices. No truly great dish (beyond those tediously formulated by molecular gastronomists ) has ever fully committed to precision measuring. Everything is in flux and not even the thickness of pasta is entirely uniform from one batch to another. Expecting one person’s garlic tolerance to satisfy you is a fool’s errand and the stumbling block for many aspiring home cooks.
You should read recipes and try to follow the instructions, but if it ever feels wrong to commit to a laborious number of steps that aren’t for the proper treatment of dough and souffles, then you’re feeling the urge to make a recipe your own. I invite you to do that with this simple yet satisfying vegan jumble I eat when nothing else will do.
Nutritional yeast doesn’t taste like cheese, and I am not vegan. I do, however, enjoy it’s salty, nutty qualities and don’t go to great lengths to make it mimic cheese sauces. If you spend all your time trying to make vegan and vegetarian ingredients into their meat and dairy laden inspirations, you’re missing the uniqueness of the new ingredients and are engaging in that self-torture I discussed in my recent resolutions article. Nutritional yeast is the worst of artificiality I long for, healthy in its own way and versatile while being exactly nothing at all like what everyone seems to think it replaces.
I also highly recommend checking out Penzey’s Spices the next time you want to justify your soft addiction to online shopping and seeking out fancier versions of every day ingredients. Penzey’s is a proudly anti-Trump and pro-immigration spice company (unlike the company run by the founder’s sibling). Their CEO is known for his long liberal-minded emails and giving away spices to own the conservatives. It helps that every single thing I’ve purchased from them is worth the price. I’m nearly out of their garlic and will have a good cry while I wait for my next jar.
I do take a socialist slant to things but that doesn’t mean I’m anti-business. I simply want to support the businesses that align with my interests whenever possible.
Ingredients
Short pasta of your choice (I opt for interesting shapes but simple elbows work well)
Coconut milk (Canned unsweetened coconut cream is what I used here but the more pedestrian (unsweetened) variety works)
Garlic (Love yourself and get Penzey’s garlic)
Black pepper
Hot Sauce
Additional seasonings: I used granulated shallots and homemade ghost pepper salt
Optional: Frozen broccoli and chopped tomatoes for texture and general illusion of health
1. Boil the pasta. When it is just about ready, toss in your desired amount of frozen broccoli. Heat until it returns to a simmer or until the broccoli is done to your satisfaction. Strain and return to the pot.
2. Put in a few generous spoonfuls of well-mixed coconut cream. You won’t need as much as you think you do. If you’re using a more liquidy mix, you want a layer of milk in the pan but not completely coating the pasta. Add garlic, generous amount of black pepper, hot sauce, and shallots.
I’ve used The Reaper from the December Fuego Box to prove it’s best used in cooking. Mostly to myself. But if you do add hot sauce, go for something without a lot of additives you might not like paired with coconut.
Don’t skimp on the black pepper. Something truly magical happens when nutritional yeast melds with simple, every day black pepper and garlic.
Stir this mix until it starts to simmer. Add the tomatoes and cook them down however much you want. They’re not going to retain their texture but help add some body to the sauce.
3. Add nutritional yeast in stages. I used approximately 1/4 of a cup but however much you use will depend on how much liquid is in the pot. Add some, stir, and if it is still runny, add a bit more. Once thick enough, it’s ready to serve. Add a little salt if desired.
And there you have it, a simple but supremely lazy mac and cheese. Feel free to continue soaking and blending nuts but I’ll happily take this. It WILL taste of coconut if you follow this version and for me that’s not a big deal. With the savory elements, the coconut takes on a cheesier note than it otherwise would. If you use more liquidy milks like almond or coconut milk in a carton, you’ll likely need to add more nutritional yeast and a bit of butter/butter substitute to add that richness. Without some fat the sauce can be gritty or outright break.