There’s something about creamy, cheesy pasta that just works. Mac and cheese is perhaps the perfect example of this, and that’s why it’s become a vegan street food classic all over the world. This speedy version is exceptionally creamy, incredibly cheesy and wonderfully crunchy. Coupled with a fresh salad it’s the stuff of dreams. Choose a vegan cheese you like the taste of and stick with it, so you know it tastes good.

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

300 g macaroni
750 ml unsweetened almond milk
50 g cashew nuts
40 ml olive oil
1 garlic clove
40 g flour
100 g vegan cheese (grated)
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp Dijon mustard
50 g fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Method

First, cook the pasta. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the macaroni, and cook it for 1 minute less than stated on the packet. Drain the pasta.
While the pasta is boiling, make the nut milk mixture. Put the almond milk and cashews into a medium-sized saucepan and bring to the boil. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blitz until smooth.
Put a frying pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Peel the garlic and grate it straight into the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes until the garlic is just starting to brown. Add the flour to the pan and whisk until it combines with the garlicky oil to make a paste. Cook for one minute, before reducing the heat and slowly pouring in a little of the nut milk mixture at a time, while whisking. Keep adding more, a little at a time, until all the nut milk is incorporated. Cook for 2 minutes, before adding in the vegan cheese, nutritional yeast and mustard.
Add the sauce into the pan with the pasta and stir to mix, adding a splash more almond milk if the mixture looks too thick. Season generously with salt and pepper, to taste.
Next, make the topping. Put the breadcrumbs, olive oil and a big pinch of salt and pepper into a bowl and stir to mix. Scatter the crumbs over the pasta.
Place the pan under the grill and cook for 2–3 minutes, keeping a close eye on it, until the topping is crispy. Then serve!

Recipe from Speedy BOSH! by Henry Firth & Ian Theasby (HQ, HarperCollins).

Food photography: Lizzie Mayson