By Chloe. Mac and Cheese 🧀

By Chloe. is an awesome vegan restaurant that I fell in love with during my time at NYU. Their Mac and cheese is made with a sweet potato cream sauce, and I was really craving it/missing it while living at home. So here is the recreated version! If you have had by Chloe. before, you know what you’re making if you try this. If you haven’t, I hope you experiment with this vegan and unique pasta dish! .

Ingredients:

1 box shiitake mushrooms

1/4 cup neutral oil

1 tbsp salt

Black pepper

1 lb sweet potato, boiled and peeled (1-2 potato’s is enough)

1 tsp mustard seed

1/4 tsp cayenne

2-4 cloves garlic

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 cups raw cashews

1-2 tbsp nutritional yeast powder

1-2 tbsp salt

3 cups water

1 lb pasta (I like elbows or shells for this) *I like to use Fiber Gourmet pasta to make this an even lighter, healthier and more nutritional dish

Cashew Parmesan (see my highlights for the recipe), for garnish

Paprika, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Thinly slice the mushrooms and keep some of the stem intact. Place in a bowl with the oil, salt and pepper. Mix until mushrooms are saturated with everything. Let sit for 15-30 mins. Lay out on baking sheet, in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes, until crispy and bacon-like.

Place the rest of your ingredients in a blender or food processor (other than the pasta and the parm). Blend for 6-9 minutes, until it is completely creamy and blended together. There should be no chunks in the sauce.

Prepare your pasta to your liking (al dente is the way to go in my opinion, I like a little bite in my pasta). Drain the water and save 1-2 cups of pasta water for layer.

To compile, take a few spoonfuls of the cheese sauce and place in a frying pan. Allow for it to heat up a little. Add a your pasta to the pan and mix. If the sauce feels a little thick, add a splash of pasta water and mix to thin.

Plate it up! Add your pasta to a bowl, sprinkle the cashew parm, place a few piece of the shiitake bacon on top and sprinkle with some paprika. Enjoy this at-home version of By Chloe’s Mac and Cheese!