Dairy-free Recipes

[Mama Mangia]

Bold & Raw “Cheese” Sauce (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free)
Altered from "May All be Fed" by John Robbins
Ingredients:

1-8 ounce package firm tofu, crumbled
1/3 cup Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes (see our Product List)
1/3 cup Raw Tahini (see our Product List)
3 Tablespoons Wheat-Free Tamari or Low Sodium Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoons Water
1 teaspoon Dried Basil
1/8 teaspoon Turmeric
1 Garlic Clove, minced
¼ teaspoon fresh Ground Black Pepper or Paprika.
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Best served at room temperature or heated a bit. Very bold flavor, a little goes a long way.

[Mama Mangia]

Healthy Nacho Cheez Sauce (Vegan, Soy-Free)
This cheez with Mexican food appeal comes from Chef Alex Bury
Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups water
½ cup safflower oil
1 Tb wet mustard
1 Tb cider vinegar
Directions:

Mix dry ingredients well, with a whisk in a heavy sauce pot.
Whisk in water and oil. Add mustard and vinegar.
Cook until thickened.

[Mama Mangia]

Lessarella Cheez (Vegan, Nut-Free, Wheat-Free, Soy-Free)
The following recipe came from the 5 star "Country Life Vegetarian Cookbook" by Diana Fleming.



Ingredients:

2 cups water
3 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
1/3 cup quick oats
1/4 cup arrowroot or cornstarch
1 Tbs onion powder
1/4 cup tahini (if you don't have tahini, you can use sesame seeds - tahini is sesame seed paste)
1 1/2 tsp salt
Optional: You can also add 1/2 chopped red bell pepper if you want to make the cheese more orange coloured. I like to do this. Also, if you are not going to set the cheese, you can leave out the cornstarch. The oats are enough to thicken the cheese for pizzas and other savoury cheese dishes.

Blend all ingredients on high for one minute. Pour into saucepan and cook on medium, stirring constantly until thickened. Put into loaf pan or other mold. Chill overnight. Remove from mold and slice. Delicious on crackers, pizza or in sandwiches. For pizza or fondue, use half the amount of arrowroot.

You can use this cheese on pizzas, to make lasagna, macaroni cheese, on the top of mashed potatoes when making a beanshepherd's pie, on toast with tomatoes. You can make it thick and set it and cut it the next day or you can make it thinner and pour it over vegetables as a cheese sauce. I use this recipe most frequently as it has no nuts or seeds which makes it cheaper. However, if you can afford them, the recipes with nuts and seeds are so good for nutritional value.

[Mama Mangia]

Melty “Cheese” I (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free)
Ingredients:

2 cups Water
¼ cup Diced Tomatoes
¼ cup Raw Almonds, Cashews, or Sunflower Seeds (for nut-free)
¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
½ teaspoon Onion Powder
½ Tablespoon Sea Salt
½ Tablespoon Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch or Arrowroot Powder
¼ cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until very smooth. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it becomes thick. Recommended on macaroni, vegetables and potatoes.

[Mama Mangia]

Pimento “Cheese” (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free)
Adapted from the “Country Life Vegetarian Cookbook"
Ingredients:

1½ cups Water
5 Tablespoons Agar Flakes
¾ cup Cashew Pieces, may substitute Sunflower Seeds for nut-free
2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds or 1 Tablespoon Tahini (see our Product List)
1¼ teaspoons Sea Salt
2 teaspoons Onion Powder
¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
¼ cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes
½ cup Diced Red Pepper or Pimentos
2½ Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Directions: Put the first two ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Place the agar mixture and the remaining ingredients in a blender. Blend all ingredients on high 1 - 2 minutes until creamy, stopping the blender once or twice to stir the contents and scrape down the sides. Pour the “cheese” into a mold and chill overnight. Un-mold the cheese and use sliced or shredded in place of commercially made cheese in your favorite recipes, or enjoy with crackers, breads, or fruit. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.

Variations: To make different flavors, fold in one of the following before pouring cheese into mold:

¾ cup finely Chopped Olives
2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Seeds
1½ Tablespoons Caraway Seeds
2 Tablespoons Dill Weed Powder
or 1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Onion Flakes and 2¼ teaspoons Dill.

[Mama Mangia]

Simple Melty “Cheese” Sauce (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free)
Ingredients:

½ cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes (see our Product List)
½ cup Cornstarch or Arrowroot Powder (see our Product List)
2 Tablespoons Flour (your choice on the type, can be GF)
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 cups Water
1 teaspoon Prepared Mustard
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens and bubbles. It will thicken the longer it cooks. This is a kid approved recipe for spreads, sauces, and popcorn.

[Mama Mangia]

Vegan Parmesan (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free)
If you use sesame seeds, just throw all the ingredients into a food processor and give it all a quick whizz.

Equal amounts of:

Almond meal or ground sesame seeds
nutritional yeast flakes
Any or all, to taste:

salt
pepper
chicken-style bouillon powder
garlic powder
onion powder
Mix all ingredients together and use on pasta, lasagne or anything that calls for parmesan cheese.

[Mama Mangia]

Tofu Ricotta (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free)


1 box Mori-Nu silken tofu
1 lb firm, fresh tofu
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tb chopped garlic
2 Tb nutritional yeast
1 Tb salt
1 tsp pepper
2 Tb herbs (basil, parsley, oregano, etc)
¼ cup lemon juice


Directions:

Puree in a food processor with the “s” blade, but not too well—ricotta has a little bit of texture, it’s not completely smooth. You can also make in a bowl with a potato masher. Taste and adjust seasonings to your own personal tastes. Bake in a lasagna or on polenta.

[Mama Mangia]

Anne's Not-Your-Average Mac'n'Cheese (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free)

Anne's Not-Your-Average Mac'n'Cheese

Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Vegan

1 bag Tinkyada rice pasta (I like spirals)
1½ Tbsp Earth Balance spread
1½ Tbsp sweet brown rice flour
¾ c plain soy milk
½ tsp salt
1 pkg Follow Your Heart vegan cheddar , (this is by far the best vegan cheese)
½ c organic red cabbage
3+1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 c organic broccoli florets
2 organic carrots
1 medium red onion
½ organic red cabbage
1 Tbsp oil for sautéing

Chop the veggies into whatever sizes and shapes you like, but small enough to fit on a fork. Shred the Follow Your Heart, reserving 2 tbsp for topping. Set pasta water to boil.

Make a roux by melting the Earth Balance in a small saucepan then adding the rice flour until it becomes a hot paste. Add ½ cup soymilk to the roux and bring to a simmer. Add the cheese, and 3 tbsp yeast, and stir until it melts. It will melt, eventually. If your sauce needs more liquid, add soymilk.

Sautee veggies in oil, with salt and pepper, until tender, but crisp. Toss noodles and veggies with the cheese sauce in an oven-safe pan, taste for seasoning, and top with the remaining yeast and. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes until cheese melts. Enjoy.

Feeds 5

[Mama Mangia]

Homemade Potato Gnocci
In restaurants, Gnocci is often made with parmesan and smothered in butter. Try making this simple version at home, where you can control what goes in and on top of this tasty potato pasta.
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

675g or 1½ lbs Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
150g or 5oz Plain Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 teasp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Black Pepper
Directions:

1. Place the potato in a large saucepan of cold salted water, bring to the boil then cook for 20 minutes or until tender.

2. Drain the cooked potatoes well, return to the pan and mash with a potato masher or fork until smooth.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the mashed potatoes and mix well to form a dough. Transfer to a lightly floured board and knead the dough until smooth, dusting with extra flour if necessary to prevent sticking.

4. Pull off pieces of the dough about the size of a cherry tomato, and roll into balls. Set each one aside on a floured surface whilst you finish the remainder.

5. Flatten the balls with the back of a fork, using the tines to create ridges then fold them in half, with the marks on the outside. The overall size should be approximately 2.5cm/1 inch in length but it's not too important, just make sure the sizes are ore or less even.

6. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, then keeping the water bubbling, add the gnocchi, and cook until they float to the top. This only takes a 2-3 minutes depending on the size.

7. Drain well and serve with a Basil and Tomato sauce or another sauce of your choice. Or make it mock-restaurant style, drizzling a respectable amount of butter flavored shortening (such as Earth Balance Buttery Sticks) over the gnocci, and sprinkle with vegan parmesan.