White Bean Mac & Cheese With Tomatoes And Peas
Try this creamy, lighter mac and cheese from Dr Michael Greger’s The How Not to Age Cookbook – a healthy twist on comfort food packed with flavour and nutrition.
Equipment
- 1 high-powered blender
Ingredients
- ½ cup yellow onion, chopped
- 1 large Maris Piper potato, peeled and chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1½ cups cups salt-free cannellini beans, home-cooked or from BPA-free cans or Tetra Paks, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup 1 cup Vegetable Broth 2.0 found on page 2 of The How Not to Age Cookbook
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¾ tsp paprika
- 1 cup unsweetened soya milk
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp white miso paste blended with ¼ cup hot water
- 225 gram whole-grain elbow macaroni
- 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
- 1 cup cherry, santini or pomodorino tomatoes, halved lengthways
- ½ cup whole-grain bread crumbs
Instructions
- In a saucepan, heat ½ cup of water over medium heat. Add the onion, potato, and garlic. Cover and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add the beans, Vegetable Broth 2.0, turmeric, onion powder and ½ teaspoon of the paprika, then continue cooking until the vegetables are very soft. Remove from the heat.
- In a high-powered blender or food processor, combine the vegetable mixture with the soya milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice and miso mixture, then blend until smooth. Taste to adjust the seasonings as desired. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 175°C. In a pot of boiling water, cook the macaroni according to the package directions. About 5 minutes before the pasta is done cooking, add the peas to the pot. Drain and transfer the pasta and peas to a large baking dish.
- Add the sauce to the cooked macaroni and peas in the baking dish. Fold in the tomatoes and spread the mixture evenly. Sprinkle the top with the bread crumbs and the remaining ¼ teaspoon of paprika. Bake until golden brown on top, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.
Notes
Any blender or food processor will produce a delicious cheesy sauce, but if you prefer a silky smooth texture, it is best to use a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix or Blendtec.