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Savory Mushroom-Leek Macaroni and Cheese with Truffle Breadcrumbs

Savory Mushroom-Leek Macaroni and Cheese with Truffle Breadcrumbs

 
PCRM’s Lisa Karlan LIVE for Vegans In Person, #LBL, & Ar2017 of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is making Miyoko’s Kitchen‘s fabulous recipe for Macaroni and Cheese using four of their incredible vegan cheeses and new cultured VeganButter. Miyoko’s incredible cheeses will be featured at Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM)‘s Animal Rights 2017 National Conference Aug 3 – 6 at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center just outside Washington, District of Columbia. Use promo code: JaneUnChained25 to get $25 discount at registration. http://www.arconference.org/register.htm#LunchBreakLIVE#JaneUnChained

Savory Mushroom Vegan Macaroni and Cheese with Truffle Breadcrumb Topping (serves about 8)

Recipe by KYLE KNIES of Miyoko’s Kitchen
INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb. pasta such as penne, fusilli, or other interesting shaped pasta

Mushroom Mixture:

  • ¼ cup (1/4 stick) Miyoko’s Kitchen VeganButter
  • 2 leeks, sliced into ¼ -inch rounds
  • 8 oz. fresh chanterelle mushrooms, or other wild mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 1 lb. (16 oz) crimini or white mushrooms, or a combination, sliced
  • 1 whole head garlic (at least 4 cloves, or to taste), peeled and minced
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cheese Sauce:

  • ½ cup (1/2 stick) Miyoko’s Kitchen VeganButter
  • 1 wheel (6.5 oz.) Miyoko’s Kitchen High Sierra Rustic Alpine
  • 1 wheel (6.5 oz.) Miyoko’s Kitchen Aged English Sharp Farmhouse
  • 1 ball (8 oz.) Miyoko’s Kitchen Fresh VeganMozz or 1 cup Crumble+Melt VeganMozz
  • 3-4 cups reserved pasta boiling water, or more as needed

Truffle Breadcrumb Topping:

  • ½ loaf ciabatta or other bread, sliced into ½ inch pieces
  • ¼ cup (1/4 stick) Miyoko’s Kitchen Vegan Butter
  • ½ unit (about 3 oz.) Miyoko’s Kitchen French Style Winter Truffle
  • 2 tablespoons truffle oil
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
If using ciabatta or other fresh bread, place slices in a single layer on baking sheet and bake about 20 minutes until all pieces are crispy and have a light golden brown color. If underside still seems soft, then flip and toast an additional 5-10 minutes. If bread is already hard, no need to do this. Allow to cool fully until crisp.
Cook the pasta: boil according to package instructions in plenty of salted water (do not over salt water, or it will be too salty to use for sauce later). Cook a minute or two less than the package states so it is truly “al dente.” It will cook more when it is bakes. Reserve several cups pasta boiling water and set aside. If you need to drain the pasta before the sauce is finished, return it to pot and coat with Vegan Butter to prevent sticking.
Prepare the mushroom mixture:
Rinse leeks well and cut off the dark green tops, keeping all the light green middle section and white bottoms. Remove roots and slice the leeks into rounds. Submerge the sliced leeks into a bowl of water and agitate to thoroughly clean and dislodge any dirt or sand. Drain water and repeat until the leeks are perfectly clean. Sort through mushrooms and discard any that seem soft or have an unappetizing odor. Wipe all mushrooms with a damp towel to clean off all dirt. Chanterelles can be roughly chopped in meaty pieces and cultivated mushrooms can be sliced as thinly or thickly as you like. Peel garlic and chop in a food processor (no need to rinse afterwards – the garlic clinging to the sides will just get mixed into the breadcrumbs later). Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add VeganButter and heat until melted. Add leeks and a dash of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for several minutes until starting to soften and turning golden brown at the edges. Add mushrooms and stir to combine with leeks and coat with VeganButter. After a few minutes, add the garlic. Cook for several more minutes until mushrooms are cooked through. There may be liquid filling the bottom of the pan from the mushrooms. This is rich mushroom liquor and there is no need to cook it off. Taste one of each mushroom to ensure it is fully cooked and season with salt and pepper as needed. Remove from heat.
Make the cheese sauce:
Heat saucepan over medium heat and melt VeganButter. Once melted, crumble in the wheels of High Sierra Rustic Alpine and Aged English Sharp Farmhouse. Using whisk, break up cheese into small pieces and allow it to soften. It will not melt like dairy cheese, but will start to look like cookie dough once the pieces have all broken down. Stirring constantly with whisk, add in pasta boiling water (should still be warm) one cup at a time and keep whisking until it is combined. The sauce will get very thick and seize at first as you add liquid and may get very lumpy. Keep stirring and adding water over the course of a few minutes until it is the texture of a thick cream sauce, keeping in mind that you do not want it to get too thin, and that the liquid in the mushroom mixture will also be added. Once fully smooth and creamy, add VeganMozz (break up into chunks if using Fresh VeganMozz) and continue whisking until it is melted. Turn off heat. Continuing to cook it further may cause oil separation. If this happens, just whisk it quickly to mix the oil back in right before adding to pasta.
Once cheese sauce is fully cooked, add the mushroom mixture and stir to combine. Taste finished sauce by dipping a cooked noodle into it, making sure you get a piece of mushroom. Depending on how salty the pasta water was, you may need to add extra salt. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Stir to combine. If it is very thick, add a little more water.
Make the breadcrumbs: 
Place dry/toasted bread into food processor. Pulse several times until coarsely chopped, then run machine for a minute until it is fine breadcrumbs. Slice butter into chunks if it’s cold or drizzle it in if it’s melted. Break Winter Truffle cheese into small pieces and add it to bowl of food processor. Pulse several times to fully combine with breadcrumbs. Finally, add truffle oil, salt and pepper and pulse several more times until combined. Taste and add more salt, pepper or truffle oil if needed.
To assemble dish, add cooked pasta to sauce with mushrooms. Stir well to coat all noodles with sauce. Pour in deep baking or casserole dish and press to flatten top. It should be saucy! Spread breadcrumbs over top, making sure to coat entire dish.
Cover dish and bake for 40-45 minutes until cheese sauce is bubbling.
Turn up heat to 400 degrees and uncover dish and bake another 8 to 12 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.
Serve immediately with a salad. You’re going to need some greens!
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Fusilli pasta coated with mushroom-leek mixture and cheese sauce

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Macaroni and Cheese in casserole just before the addition of truffle breadcrumb topping

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Placing truffle cheese breadcrumb topping on savory Mac & Cheese

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Placing Mac & Cheese into the oven to bake and brown the truffle breadcrumb topping

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See Also
Black Vegan Leaders

Lisa Karlan and Richard Liss waiting for the Savory Mac & Cheese to finish baking in the oven

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Enjoying the beautiful deck on the beach in Malibu Colony while waiting for savory mac & cheese to bake

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Mac & Cheese with Truffle Breadcrumb Topping right out of the oven

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Savory Mushroom-Leek Macaroni and Cheese with Truffle Breadcrumb Topping

 

 
 
 

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