Dairy-Free Creamy Macaroni Bake
This healthy, creamy macaroni bake is a favourite among kids who crave macaroni and cheese but can't have dairy. Cooking and pureeing the cauliflower gives the sauce a whiteness that makes it look like the traditional cream sauce.
4 cups (1 L) chicken stock
6 cups (1.5 L) cauliflower florets (about 1 medium cauliflower)
1 lb (500 g) macaroni
2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups (500 mL) chopped onion
2 tsp (10 mL) chopped garlic
3 cups (750 mL) diced zucchini
Sauce
1/4 cup (50 mL) olive oil
1/4 cup (50 mL) flour
1 tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano
2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped fresh basil
Topping:
1 cup (250 mL) breadcrumbs
Heat chicken stock in a pot, add cauliflower and cook until tender, about 15 minutes depending on size of florets. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and reserve cauliflower and stock separately.
Bring a large pot of water to boil, add macaroni to pot and cook according to package directions or until al dente. Drain macaroni, saving 2/3 cup (150 mL) pasta cooking water.
Puree cauliflower and reserved pasta cooking water in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reserve.
Preheat oven to 350˚ F (180˚ C).
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add zucchini and cook until zucchini softens, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini mixture to pasta.
Heat oil for sauce in a separate pot over medium heat. Add flour and cook together until flour turns a light brown colour, about 4 minutes. Add reserved stock, whisking continuously. Add mustard, oregano, basil and pureed cauliflower and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes to combine flavours. Season well with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender or food processor to puree sauce until silky smooth.
Add sauce to pasta mixture and toss to coat. Taste for seasoning.
Oil a 9-by-13-inch (23-by-32-cm) baking dish or other gratin dish. Pile in dairy-free creamy macaroni mixture, sprinkle on breadcrumbs and bake for 30 minutes or until dish is hot and sauce is bubbling. If the top has not browned, then broil top for 2 minutes or until a slight crust forms. Serves 8.
Per serving for 8 servings:
420 calories
14.5 g total fat
2 g saturated fat
10 g monounsaturated fat
2 g polyunsaturated fat
60 g carbohydrates
13 g protein
0 mg cholesterol
5 g fibre
65 mg calcium
61 mg magnesium
250 mg sodium
640 mg potassium
2 mg vitamin E
3.2 mg iron
21 RE vitamin A
46 mg vitamin C
Recipe courtesy Lucy Waverman and King Pharmaceuticals Canada
Lauren: An article entitled "Our best healthy vegetarian recipes" links to this recipe. I would suspect that's why there was a comment about it not being vegetarian.
Jess: This recipe wasn't called "vegetarian" or "vegan" but DAIRY-FREE, which does not automatically mean vegan-friendly. It is helpful to know that they tested this recipe with chicken stock and, since many omnivores are searching for allergy accommodation using food readily available or reducing meat consumption, this recipe meets that expectation. Heck, chicken stock is even in convenience stores whereas vegatable stock is harder to find. However, I think most people know chicken stock is not vegetarian-friendly (whether they themselves are vegetarian or not) and that vegetable stock can be easily substituted, with only minor changes in the nutritional information. You certainly do and vegetarians do too, so its listing in the recipe has no impact on your cooking.
Chicken stock is not a vegetarian-friendly ingredient. Why is it that so many so called "vegetarian" dishes call for chicken stock? Vegetable stock tastes just as good as chicken stock and won't make a vegetarian sick!