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Sunday, April 15, 2007

Baked "Cheesy" Pasta with Vegetables and Baked Tofu

I don't normally like frozen dinners, but there is one Amy's bowl used to love in my pre-vegan days, Country Cheddar Bowl. I was thinking about it the other day and decided to recreate it as a vegan meal. I used Jo Stephaniak's "Amazing Mac 'N Cheez Sauce" (from the Uncheese Cookbook) as the base. Here is my version:

Baked "Cheesy" Pasta with Vegetables and Baked Tofu

Baked Cheesy Pasta with Vegetables
10 oz. Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta
10 baby red potatoes, halved
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 tbs Olive Oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 small Carrot, cut into matchsticks.
1 small Red Bell Pepper, cut into short narrow strips
2 cups Broccoli florets
1/4 cup white wine or water
1 Tbs tamari
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
2 cups soy milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 lb. Baked Tofu (Wildwood savory style or White Wave, italian style), cut into 3/4" pieces
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 9x11 casserole with olive oil spray.
Cook Rotini Pasta according to package directions. Drain, Rinse, set aside.
Place potatoes on a baking sheet lined with non-stick foil or parchment. Coat with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven and set aside.
MEANWHILE, heat olive oil in a heavy pot or large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until they just start to turn brown, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute, stirring constantly. Add the carrots and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Add bell pepper and broccoli along with 1/4 cup wine or water and 1 Tbs tamari. Cover and cook for about 4 minutes, until broccoli is tender, but still crisp. Set aside.
To make the sauce, combine flour, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika in a medium saucepan. Gradually whisk in the soy milk, olive oil, and mustard. Cook over medium heat until it thickens and is smooth and bubbly.
In a large bowl (or the pot used to boil the pasta), mix the pasta, tofu, potaotes, vegetables, and "cheese sauce". Pour into the casserole and cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.

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