There’s a lot to love about this culinary fusion-fest featuring gemelli pasta cloaked in a creamy sauce made with cashews, coconut milk, and Thai red curry paste. This Mac and Thai is a MUST make!
I know how much you all love mac and cheese recipes, so I was pretty excited to do this cookbook review. This Mac and Thai recipe, along with 50+ delicious plant based comfort food recipes can be found in Robin Robertson’s new cookbook Vegan Mac & Cheese.
Robin is a veteran restaurant chef, cooking teacher, and acclaimed writer. Robin wrote the Global Vegan column for VegNews Magazine for ten years. She also wrote for Vegetarian Times and Cooking Light. Check her out on her site, and be sure to check out her newly released cookbook.
About Mac and Thai
Robin’s cookbook features recipes that she says will “appeal to vegans and omnivores alike, and they’ll have kids of all ages saying “Mac uncheese? Yes, please!”” Her recipes are divided into five chapters. She also include lists of toppings, add-ins, and other ways to get creative with plant based mac and cheese recipes.
The chapters include:
- Basic Vegan Mac & Cheese
- Global Cheesy Macs
- Mac and Veggies
- Meaty Macs
- Fun with Mac & Cheese
I’m sitting here with the cookbook in hand and browsing through the recipes, and oh em gee, I’m seriously drooling! It was pretty tough to choose which recipe to feature, there’s definitely a lot of them that I want to try. I chose to feature this Mac and Thai version because it’s quite unique. I can’t say I’ve ever had a Thai inspired mac before so I really want to share this one with you all!
If you decided to give this seriously drool worthy dish a try, I’d love to hear back from you. Tell me if you like it, how you topped it, or any substitutions you made. Happy cooking!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 teaspoons neutral vegetable oil
- 1 small yellow onion minced
- 3 tablespoons 30 g Thai red curry paste
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups 480 ml water, divided
- ¾ cup 105 g unsalted raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes, drained
- 1 13-ounce, or 368 g can unsweetened coconut milk
Pasta
- 16 ounces 454 g gemelli, or other small pasta
Garnish
- Chopped roasted peanuts for garnishing
- Fresh Thai basil or chopped fresh cilantro, for garnishing
- Red pepper flakes for garnishing (optional)
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- To make the sauce: In a skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil.
- Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the curry paste, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Stir in 1 cup (240 ml) of water and remove the skillet from the heat.
- In a high-speed blender, combine the cashews and remaining 1 cup (240 ml) of water. Blend until completely smooth. Add the curry mixture and blend again until smooth. Set aside.
- To make the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain well and return it to pot.
- To finish: Stir in the curry sauce and coconut milk. Place the pot over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes to heat through and thicken the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning, as needed. Transfer to a large serving dish and serve hot, sprinkled with peanuts, basil, and red pepper flakes (if using), with lime wedges on the side for squeezing.
Sharon Berghorn
I made this tonight and we loved it! I used some really great curry paste so it was super spicy, next time I will only use 2 Tablespoons.
rosa
Thanks for sharing your feedback Sharon. Glad you enjoyed. 🙂