Chipotle Mac and Cheese

My friend Russell is a younger, less cynical version of Anthony Bourdain. His tone of voice is also less grating and snarky, but that's beside the point.

We bonded on similar music tastes, and found that our appetite for adventurous foods coincided. He found the best places for a meal out, while I found the best new recipes to cook at home. His fearlessness in trying new foods was something I rarely came across when meeting new people, therefore I ensured almost everything I baked or cooked had his approval. I knew he wouldn't bullshit me into thinking the meal was delicious, but unlike Anthony Bourdain he wouldn't chastise my failed attempt at cooking.

He had eaten raw ox meat in Amsterdam, even indulged in an animal's brains and lip in a burrito, but was allergic to cashews. Ironically enough, he was limited in his options at a vegan Mexican restaurant.

Since becoming vegan, I wanted my new recipes to pass the Russell test. Currently I had a recipe for vegan mac n' cheese in beta mode; I had the roux down-pat but was stuck on finding a good cheese replacement that didn't contain cashews.

A few weeks ago, I discovered a recipe for vegan cheese that called for sunflower seeds instead of cashews. Two failed attempts at sunflower cheese, a couple of tweaks, and I felt ready to roll out my mac and cheese recipe. It's a long process (totally worth it), but it passed Russell's approval and is ready for publication.

Chipotle Mac n' Cheese

While you're prepping the cheese and roux, cook your macaroni/pasta and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Vegan Cheese:
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for 2 hours
1/2 cup water or soy milk, divided
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dry, ground mustard
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Place sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup of water or soy milk, and garlic in food processor. Pulse a few times; add nutritional yeast, cornstarch, paprika, mustard, and tumeric. Pulse until smooth. Scrape mixture into saucepan, warm over medium-low heat. Add in rest of water or milk, stir. Add in olive oil and salt in pepper, stir. Taste and add seasonings if needed.

Roux:
4 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil, divided
3 tbsp flour
1 cup soy milk
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp dry, ground mustard
1/4 tsp paprika
3 chipotle peppers, minced
1 tbsp adobo sauce
salt and pepper

Melt 3 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Slowly add flour, stirring with a whisk or fork. Once incorporated, slowly add in soy milk, constantly stirring.
Meanwhile, warm 1 tbsp butter or olive oil in a pan over medium low heat. Add in onion, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes. Add in garlic, stir for 1 minute. Turn off heat.
Once the roux is ready, add in nutmeg, mustard, paprika, chipotle peppers and adobo. Stir to incorporate, and add onion and garlic. Stir and season with salt and pepper, taste. Turn off heat.

The carbs:
1 lb (16 oz) elbow macaroni or penne pasta, cooked al dente
1/4 cup bread crumbs, sautéd briefly in same pan as onion and garlic

Once pasta is cooked and drained, add in roux and cheese. Stir with a spatula, incorporate that shit and get it nice and cheesy. Scrape into desired baking apparatus (I choose a 9x13 baking dish spritzed with olive oil), top with bread crumbs. Bake for 15-20 minutes, remove and add chopped green onions or parsley; set oven to broil. Broil for 3-5 minutes, until breadcrumbs on top are nice and browned.

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes and Lentils with Polenta

For the first time in a few months, I finally had a full fridge.
"The ultimate first-world problem!" my friend Remy laughed, "You have fridge full of groceries and still say, 'I have nothing to eat!'"

This is the situation I faced tonight. I had leftover vegan chipotle mac n' cheese, a half cup of vegetable soup, tofu, roasted red peppers, sweet potatoes; yet I remained dissatisfied.

I reached to the back of my shelf and retrieved a container filled with leftover polenta. Scanning my groceries for what the hell I could do with polenta, inspiration struck.

With other recipes still to be perfected, I decided this was the one to debut on this blog.


Combining a few of my favorite ingredients with tried-and-true techniques resulted in absolute deliciousness. FUCKING YUM! Who said being vegan had to consist of eating sad, raw vegetables?

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes and Lentils with Polenta
1 cup black lentils
4 cups water
3 tbsp tomato paste
few dashes of hot sauce (Tapatio all the way!)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 chipotle peppers, chopped
1/2 tbsp adobo sauce
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp oregano

a few pan-fried slices of polenta (left-over or from a tube)

optional: green onions, salt and pepper

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add lentils, cover and bring to a simmer. Let cook 10-15 minutes.

Warm olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add sweet potato, sauté for 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic, sauté for another 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add in chopped chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and spices; stir to combine.

At this point, the lentils should be almost ready. Stir in tomato paste and hot sauce, bring to a simmer. Add sweet potato sauté to lentils, stir to combine. Pan-fry polenta until golden-brown on both sides.

Top polenta with sweet potato and lentil mixture. Garnish with green onions, salt and pepper.