Cornbread Topped Chili Mac

Creamy slightly smoky and spicy chili mac, topped with fluffy cornbread.

I love chili, and it's fun to have it as a side to macnncheese. So, why not combine them in one glorious dish, and round it out to ridiculousness by topping it with cornbread instead of breadcrumbs?

Yeah, you know I had to do it.

Ingredients

Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 chipotle chilli in adobo sauce, minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 cup TVP + 1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 can kidney beans (about 200g when drained)
1 can chopped tomatoes (400g)
1 tablespoon Braggs
1 tablespoon sweet dark soy sauce

Creamy Sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup rice flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons miso
3 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup soy milk
juice of 1/2 lemon

Cornbread Topping

2/3 cup vegetable stock
1 to 1 & 1/2 cups finely ground cornmeal
1 tablespoon rice flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Other

350g elbows/macaroni

Method

Chili

Soak the TVP in the boiling water until it has rehydrated, about 15 minutes.

In a deep sided frying pan, heat the vegetable oil over a medium heat.  Saute the onion, garlic and chipotle until the onion is translucent - about 5 minutes.

Pour in the TVP and any remaining soaking liquid. Then add the kidney beans, oregano, coriander, smoked paprika and stir together well.  Pour in the chopped tomatoes, Braggs and sweet dark soy sauce.

Bring to a simmer and continue simmering until the chili is thick and the liquid has cooked off.  Set to one side.

Creamy Sauce

In a medium saucepan, heat the vegetable oil and saute the garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add the rice flour and nutritional yeast and stir to mix completely.  Add a little of the hot stock and mix to form a paste. Keep adding the stock a little at a time and keep whisking to form a thick sauce.  Whisk the miso through the sauce, with the lemon juice and soy milk.  Set to one side.

Cornbread Topping

Pour the stock into a medium sized bowl. Whisk in the corn meal, rice flour, baking powder and oil to make a thick smooth paste.

Putting it all together

Cook the pasta as per the packet's instructions.  When it cooked, drain it and mix it with the chili.  Mix in the creamy sauce until everything is well combined.

Pour into a baking dish, approximately 25 to 30cm long by about 20cm wide and at least 10cm deep.

Dot with tablespoonfuls of the cornbread topping at 1cm intervals and then gently pull the cornbread together to cover the top.

Bake until the sides are bubbling and the cornbread topping is cooked through and dry, about 30 minutes.

Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

"The Peas Knees" - Pea Puree & Marinated Tempeh Macnnotcheese

I used to make creamy pesto mac and cheese and loved the pretty green colour of the sauce nestled around the pasta.  In recent times, I've seen lots of references to pea pesto and my desire for green macnnotcheese went into high gear.

I like some protein in my macnnotcheese and thought that the savouriness of tempeh would match well with the sweetness of the pea puree.

Sadly the crappy phone pictures don't show off the gentle green to best advantage, but you get the idea.

Ingredients

Pea Puree

2 cups frozen (or fresh) peas, cooked until just tender
1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 tablespoon Braggs (or soy sauce)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Marinated Tempeh

300g tempeh block
juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon Braggs (or soy sauce)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
dash of hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

White Sauce

1 tablespoon Nuttelex or olive oil
1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/3 cup rice flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 cups vegetable stock
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon barley miso
1/4 cup non dairy milk

500g macaroni/pasta elbows

Method

Pea Puree

Blend all of the ingredients together until smooth and thick. Set to one side.

Marinated Tempeh

Steam the tempeh for 10 minutes.  Finely dice and place into a large heatproof bowl.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients and set to one side.

White Sauce

Heat the Nuttelex or olive oil in a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat.  Saute the garlic for a minute and then add the rice flour and nutritional yeast.  Stir to combine and cook the flour and nutritional yeast for a couple of minutes.  Pour in some of the vegetable stock and whisk to form a smooth thick paste.  Pour in further stock and whisk to form a smooth sauce. Continue adding a little stock at a time and whisking until the sauce is pourable but coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in the barley miso.  Take the sauce off the heat and stir through the lemon juice and non dairy milk.  Set to one side.

Putting it all together

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius.

Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions and drain.  Pour the pasta into the large bowl with the marinated tempeh and mix together well.

Pour in 3/4 of the white sauce with the pasta and tempeh and mix through well.  Pour in 3/4 of the pea puree and mix through well.

Pour the pasta mixture into a baking dish, approximately 25 to 30cm long by about 20cm wide and at least 10cm deep.

Mix together the remaining 1/4 of the white sauce and the 1/4 of the pea puree.

Pour over the pasta, pulling away at the sides of the pasta as need to let the sauce run down through the whole dish.

Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the top looks dry and there are golden spots, about 20 minutes.

Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. If you don't, then instead of a nice neat wedge, you'll get this, which is just as tasty but not as pretty: