This past week, the ladyfriend's mom sent her a very vintage vegan cookbook from the late 70s, which I promptly "borrowed". If you've ever wondered what hippies were eating between all those anti-war protests and drug-fueled music festivals, I can now confidently answer: Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Bake.
Flowers and all!
"Wait," I can hear you protest. "I thought vegans couldn't eat cheese?" Well, we can't...but allow me to introduce you to my dear friend, nutritional yeast.
Nutritional yeast is a vegan staple for 2 reasons. First of all, it provides many of the B vitamins that are hard to get when you're not eating animal products. Equally importantly, it's sooo good. Nutritional yeast has a slightly nutty flavor and is often used to thicken up soups and curries, or to make sauces and pasta dishes with a "cheesy" taste and texture. I promise it's not as weird as it sounds! Whole Foods usually stocks nutritional yeast in bulk bins, which is perfect if you want to try it out without committing to a huge jar.
My shameless promotion of weird vegan things aside, you have to try this recipe - the creamy sauce perfectly complements the crunchy veggies, and between the nutritional yeast, the broccoli, and the cauliflower, you're also getting an insane amount of important vitamins and minerals in each bite. If you can't find nutritional yeast or you're just too skeptical right now, you can also use this mushroom gravy instead - I made a big batch for Thanksgiving and it was delicious, even though I'm not normally a fan of mushrooms!
Claire Underwood would undoubtedly hate this recipe as much as she loves tailored dresses and political backstabbing, but I suppose that's something I'll have to live with. Cheers!
Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese Bake
Adapted from The Cookbook for People Who Love Animals
Serves 6 to 8
1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
1 medium broccoli crown, cut into bite-sized florets
3 cloves garlic, diced
1½ onions, diced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
salt, to taste
olive oil to coat your pan
1½ cups vegetable stock
1 cup nutritional yeast
½ cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
salt, to taste
4 scallions, chopped (optional)
1 cup fried onions (optional, but who doesn't love these greasy little things?)
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Heat a little olive oil in the biggest pan you own over medium-high heat, then add all your veggies and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the soy sauce and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Take your veggies off the heat and set aside while you prepare the sauce.
Did you know purple cauliflower was a thing?? I did not, but it's beautiful!
To make your nutritional yeast gravy, pour the vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, and tahini into a blender and go to town. You'll want to let this whir around on puree for at least a minute, so that the mixture gets nice and airy. Add the garlic, soy sauce, and spices, and blend again until you have a smooth liquid. The consistency should be similar to....well, gravy! You can add some extra stock if it seems too thick, or another dollop of tahini if it looks a little watery.
Much colorful! Very wow!
Grab an 8 x 12 baking dish and pour in just enough gravy to coat the bottom. Spread a layer of vegetables on top of them, then pour on another coat of gravy. Keep alternating veggies and sauce until the dish is full, making sure to end with a layer of gravy. The whole concoction will look really soupy and you'll wonder if those damn vegan hippies led you astray, but hang in there! Once you've used up all your veggies, you can get a little creative with the toppings - the original recipe calls for a sprinkling of extra nutritional yeast and paprika on top of the bake, but I opted for a stinkier version with fried onions and scallions. I bet a healthy portion of bread crumbs would also be delicious!
Mm gravy.
that book looks awesome!
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