The Complete Novice's Guide to No-Drain Mac and Cheese (Revised 12/9/20)
Shopping List
1 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 organic Vidalia onion (Use a medium or large one, if you like onion, or small, if you aren't that much of a fan.)
1 box of organic dried pasta (8-16 ounces, regular or gluten-free pasta shells, macaroni, or even fusilli, such as Andean Dream, which is gluten-free)
1 cup organic mushroom broth, divided
3 cup vegan half and half (such as sweetened Better Half) or other non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon powdered black mustard seeds
1 bag (8 ounces) of organic shredded Cheddar (such as Daiya)
Prep
Clean off workspace on counter. Place two kitchen towels folded in half, side by side, so the short ends are on the bottom and place cutting board on top, along with a chef knife. Rinse off Vidalia onion. Using the point of your chef's knife, make a small starter incision at each end of the onion before slicing off the ends and disposing them. Make a small incision in the side of the onion, near the end. Then pull off the first two or three layers and discard them. Rinse onion again. Slice onion in half, starting with one of the cut ends and pushing the knife downward. Make a triangle cut on the ends of each half, in the same way you might cut an apple, removing any remaining white core from the ends. Pull out the unicorn horn-shaped and/or possibly green inner heart of the onion and discard. Place the flat side of the half onion on the cutting board so the long end of the onion matches the long end of the cutting board and make starter incisions with your chef's knife (but not with the tip) near the middle but slightly towards you, before cutting all the way through each slice. Cut the onion left to right, being extra careful, as you will probably have to hold the onion half together while cutting, as, otherwise, it may fall apart. Chop up the other half the same way.
Place 1 tablespoon sunflower oil in inner pot of your pressure cooker. Flip chef's knife so the dull end is on the bottom, and use it to scrape onion from cutting board into pot. Add just enough mushroom broth or vegetable broth to cover the bottom of the pan but not so much it is soupy.
Sauté for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of your onion. Stir it a little or the pasta will stick together. Press cancel soon after the onion starts to glisten and seems to look extra white, which is when it is mostly--but not totally--cooked through. Use a heat-resistant plastic soup spoon to dish out onion and set aside on a large plate.
Open box of pasta and pour contents into empty inner pot of pressure cooker, along with 3 cups of vegan half and half, 1 cup of mushroom broth (minus however much you already added), 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon powered black mustard seeds, and 1 teaspoon salt. Place lid on pressure cooker and set to Sealing. Pressure cook gluten-free macaroni for 4 minutes, gluten macaroni for 7 minutes, and medium-large gluten shells for 8 minutes. This is for fully cooked pasta. Subtract a minute or two for tough, chewy pasta/al dente.
Warning: Mini macaroni made of green lentils will be turned into a porridge-like mush, if cooked 7 minutes, so be sure to cook smaller pasta and/or that made without gluten a shorter amount of time.
When your pressure cooker beeps, wrap a kitchen towel around your finger to do a quick release by switching the dial to venting, while keeping your head and body as far from the steam as possible and quickly pulling your hand away. Wait for the red button to drop, which tells you when it is safe to open the lid, as the pressure has been released. Carefully open the lid and shake excess water from the inner lining of the lid into the sink and set aside on a kitchen towel or on your heat-resistant cutting board.
Stir in 8 ounces of shredded Cheddar (1 bag), along with the onions you reserved earlier. If the cheese doesn't melt, you can set your pressure cooker to sauté until it does, which should happen within a few minutes. Press cancel as soon as you can to avoid drying out the pasta and causing it to stick to the pan.
Note: You can, also, use this recipe to make red sauce pasta. However, you would put in 1 (15 ounce) can of tomato sauce and 1 (7 ounce) jar/can of tomato paste in place of an equivalent amount of half and half while keeping the rest of the mushroom broth and half and half the same. You can even pour in one bag of vegan crumbles/meatless ground round (13.7 ounces, such as Gardein). Then, after it cooks, you would only sprinkle some Cheddar on top, instead of using a whole bag. Also, include 1 teaspoon, each, of garlic powder, basil, oregano, and marjoram, as well as a half teaspoon of powdered rosemary, a half teaspoon of ground cinnamon, at least 1 to 2 tablespoons of agave nectar, and 1/4 cup vegan sour cream, along with a small splash of distilled organic vinegar.
Chef's Debriefing
Enjoy promptly. It is surprisingly full of cheesy goodness. I don't know about anyone else, but, every once in a while, I get a craving for mac and cheese, and this really satisfies. It's the perfect marriage of comfort food and convenience and only takes 45 to 60 minutes to prepare, if that.
Wash knife promptly, afterwards, as your tools can't take care of you, unless you take care of them. Be sure to sharpen your chef's knife once a month or so, as, no matter how counter-intuitive it is, a dull knife is far more dangerous than a sharp one.
When I was a kid, my maternal grandma served mac and cheese from a box once and didn't drain the water, making it utterly tasteless. This weekend I was so happy to discover that, now with my pressure cooker, attempting to drain steaming hot pasta over the sink without letting any pasta escape is no longer required.
1 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 organic Vidalia onion (Use a medium or large one, if you like onion, or small, if you aren't that much of a fan.)
1 box of organic dried pasta (8-16 ounces, regular or gluten-free pasta shells, macaroni, or even fusilli, such as Andean Dream, which is gluten-free)
1 cup organic mushroom broth, divided
3 cup vegan half and half (such as sweetened Better Half) or other non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon powdered black mustard seeds
1 bag (8 ounces) of organic shredded Cheddar (such as Daiya)
Prep
Clean off workspace on counter. Place two kitchen towels folded in half, side by side, so the short ends are on the bottom and place cutting board on top, along with a chef knife. Rinse off Vidalia onion. Using the point of your chef's knife, make a small starter incision at each end of the onion before slicing off the ends and disposing them. Make a small incision in the side of the onion, near the end. Then pull off the first two or three layers and discard them. Rinse onion again. Slice onion in half, starting with one of the cut ends and pushing the knife downward. Make a triangle cut on the ends of each half, in the same way you might cut an apple, removing any remaining white core from the ends. Pull out the unicorn horn-shaped and/or possibly green inner heart of the onion and discard. Place the flat side of the half onion on the cutting board so the long end of the onion matches the long end of the cutting board and make starter incisions with your chef's knife (but not with the tip) near the middle but slightly towards you, before cutting all the way through each slice. Cut the onion left to right, being extra careful, as you will probably have to hold the onion half together while cutting, as, otherwise, it may fall apart. Chop up the other half the same way.
Place 1 tablespoon sunflower oil in inner pot of your pressure cooker. Flip chef's knife so the dull end is on the bottom, and use it to scrape onion from cutting board into pot. Add just enough mushroom broth or vegetable broth to cover the bottom of the pan but not so much it is soupy.
Sauté for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of your onion. Stir it a little or the pasta will stick together. Press cancel soon after the onion starts to glisten and seems to look extra white, which is when it is mostly--but not totally--cooked through. Use a heat-resistant plastic soup spoon to dish out onion and set aside on a large plate.
Open box of pasta and pour contents into empty inner pot of pressure cooker, along with 3 cups of vegan half and half, 1 cup of mushroom broth (minus however much you already added), 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon powered black mustard seeds, and 1 teaspoon salt. Place lid on pressure cooker and set to Sealing. Pressure cook gluten-free macaroni for 4 minutes, gluten macaroni for 7 minutes, and medium-large gluten shells for 8 minutes. This is for fully cooked pasta. Subtract a minute or two for tough, chewy pasta/al dente.
Warning: Mini macaroni made of green lentils will be turned into a porridge-like mush, if cooked 7 minutes, so be sure to cook smaller pasta and/or that made without gluten a shorter amount of time.
When your pressure cooker beeps, wrap a kitchen towel around your finger to do a quick release by switching the dial to venting, while keeping your head and body as far from the steam as possible and quickly pulling your hand away. Wait for the red button to drop, which tells you when it is safe to open the lid, as the pressure has been released. Carefully open the lid and shake excess water from the inner lining of the lid into the sink and set aside on a kitchen towel or on your heat-resistant cutting board.
Stir in 8 ounces of shredded Cheddar (1 bag), along with the onions you reserved earlier. If the cheese doesn't melt, you can set your pressure cooker to sauté until it does, which should happen within a few minutes. Press cancel as soon as you can to avoid drying out the pasta and causing it to stick to the pan.
Note: You can, also, use this recipe to make red sauce pasta. However, you would put in 1 (15 ounce) can of tomato sauce and 1 (7 ounce) jar/can of tomato paste in place of an equivalent amount of half and half while keeping the rest of the mushroom broth and half and half the same. You can even pour in one bag of vegan crumbles/meatless ground round (13.7 ounces, such as Gardein). Then, after it cooks, you would only sprinkle some Cheddar on top, instead of using a whole bag. Also, include 1 teaspoon, each, of garlic powder, basil, oregano, and marjoram, as well as a half teaspoon of powdered rosemary, a half teaspoon of ground cinnamon, at least 1 to 2 tablespoons of agave nectar, and 1/4 cup vegan sour cream, along with a small splash of distilled organic vinegar.
Chef's Debriefing
Enjoy promptly. It is surprisingly full of cheesy goodness. I don't know about anyone else, but, every once in a while, I get a craving for mac and cheese, and this really satisfies. It's the perfect marriage of comfort food and convenience and only takes 45 to 60 minutes to prepare, if that.
Wash knife promptly, afterwards, as your tools can't take care of you, unless you take care of them. Be sure to sharpen your chef's knife once a month or so, as, no matter how counter-intuitive it is, a dull knife is far more dangerous than a sharp one.
When I was a kid, my maternal grandma served mac and cheese from a box once and didn't drain the water, making it utterly tasteless. This weekend I was so happy to discover that, now with my pressure cooker, attempting to drain steaming hot pasta over the sink without letting any pasta escape is no longer required.