Vegan 'Cheesy' Pasta Bake

This dish is a vegan/ veggie's paradise. It is jam-packed with delicious vegetables and tastes so cheesy that it leaves you thinking you've eaten something really naughty when you haven't. It contains no dairy, cheese or anything animal-related; it's also gluten-free and completely made from scratch. Again, this one is super easy to make and you can have it ready to go within half an hour. It's also a perfect dish to serve if you've got guests.

Ingredients (serves 3)

1 and a half cups of buckwheat penne 

1 cup kale

1 400g box of black beans

1/2 cup peas

2 sticks of celery

1 red onion

1 shallot

1 clove garlic

1 tsp coconut oil

For the sauce:
1/2 cup almond milk/ other nut milk

1/3 cup brown rice flour/ other gluten-free flour

4 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp turmeric

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tsp cayenne paper

1 tsp coconut oil

Pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.

2. Put the buckwheat penne on to boil.

3. Fry the shallot, red onion and celery in 1 tsp of coconut oil until they start to brown. Throw in the kale and black beans, taking the pan off the heat once the kale wilts.

4. Prepare the sauce by heating the coconut oil in a pan, adding the flour once it heats up. Stir the oil and flour until it becomes a paste, then add the almond milk. Stir until they mix completely. 

5. Lower the heat of the pan and add the nutritional yeast, turmeric, pepper and cayenne pepper to the pan and stir, keeping the pan on a low heat. Here you can test the sauce; if it is too watery, add some more flour; if it isn't cheesy enough, add some more nutritional yeast. I play around with it every time until I get the consistency and flavour I'm happy with.

6. Drain the pasta once it is cooked and add the pan-fried vegetables as well as the peas and pasta sauce, stirring everything together until evenly coated in the sauce.

7. Line a loaf pan with  coconut oil and pour in the pasta. Sprinkle a few sea salt flakes on top.

8. Cook the pasta bake for 10-15 minutes in the oven, checking on it regularly to avoid the top pasta pieces from burning.

9. Serve up alongside some gluten-free bread (I recommend this one from Naturally Sassy) and enjoy!

I am sure you will not be disappointed with this dish. It really is one of those 'I can't believe it's not butter' moments and I love it!

- Anna