Veggie Nacho Casserole

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vegan nacho casserole

Need a veggie-packed crowd-pleasing supper tonight? This one’s whole food, plant-based, no oil, and great for the family. It’s super healthy but you’d never know it cuz it tastes so damn good. Dig in!

Ingredients

Veg:

  • 3 medium gold potatoes, with skins
  • 11 small plum tomatoes
  • 3 jalapeños
  • 8 oz/225 g green beans
  • 2 cups/225 g cauliflower florets
  • 2 cups/225 g broccoli florets
  • 3 cups/200 g baby kale leaves
  • 1 1/2 cups/250 g frozen corn kernels
  • 1 1/2 cups/200 g frozen peas
  • 1 cup/70 g rough chopped red cabbage
  • 1 tub (14 oz/400 g) extra-firm pressed tofu, drained
  • 1 onion, peeled
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp dried oregano

Green Bean Salsa:

  • 4 oz/115 g green beans
  • 1/2 small red onion
  • 1 handful cilantro
  • 2 limes, juiced

Queso Sauce:

  • 2 small sweet potatoes (or 1 large)
  • 2 cups/225 g cauliflower florets (about 1/4 large head)
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • About 1/3 cup/30 g nutritional yeast
  • About 1 cup/240 ml oat milk
  • 3 big handfuls of yellow tortilla chips
  • 1/2 avocado

Instructions

  1. For the veg: Quarter the potatoes and poach them in water to cover just until tender, 10 to 12 minutes (you can do this ahead then keep the spuds covered in cold water at room temp).
  2. Bring another big pot of water to a boil for blanching some veg.
  3. Meanwhile, heat up a grill, broiler, or gas burner. Grill or broil the tomatoes and jalapeños until charred all over, 5 to 6 minutes total, turning now and then. When done, set aside.
  4. Cut the green beans in half crosswise. Blanch the halved green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, and kale in the boiling water for 1 minute. Drain then transfer the blanched veg to a 3-quart/2.8-liter baking dish. Mix in the poached potatoes, the corn, peas, and cabbage. Season with a little salt.
  5. Preheat the oven to 420ºF/215ºC. Cut the tofu into 1-inch/2.5-cm cubes and place in a mixing bowl. Cut the onion into 2-inch/5-cm pieces and add it to the bowl. Rough chop 1 of the charred tomatoes and add that to the bowl. Season with the cumin, onion powder, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and oregano.
  6. Heat a large heavy pan such as cast iron over medium heat. Add the seasoned veg to the hot pan (no oil needed) and cook until seared on a few sides, 4 to 5 minutes total. Then pop the pan in the oven until the veg is nicely roasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Leave the oven on. Meanwhile, slice 2 of the charred jalapenos for later.
  7. For the salsa, dice 7 of the remaining charred tomatoes and 1 of the jalapenos (not the sliced ones) and add them to a mixing bowl. Finely chop the 4 oz/115 g raw green beans and red onion and add them to the bowl. Rough chop the cilantro and add it to the bowl. Add the lime juice and a pinch each of cumin, salt, and black pepper, and toss to mix.
  8. Remove the veg from the oven and transfer all the veg to the baking dish, spreading it evenly.
  9. For the queso: Peel the sweet potatoes and place in a medium pot with the cauliflower, garlic, and bay leaf. Add water to cover and season with a little salt. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer until the veg is tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
  10. Transfer the remaining 3 charred tomatoes to a blender along with 1 of the sliced charred jalapenos. Remove the bay leaf from the simmering veg, then drain the veg and transfer the veg to the blender. Add the cumin, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, oregano, nutritional yeast, and about 1/3 cup/80 ml of the oat milk. Start blending slow and if the mixture is too thick to blend, drizzle in just enough oat milk so it blends. Once it’s blending good, turn the speed to high and blend until it becomes a nice, thick, silky smooth queso style sauce, 2 to 3 minutes. Add more oat milk as you go. It should be thick yet pourable. If you like, blend in a big handful of tortilla chips – they add tons of flavor!
  11. Pour about 2 cups/475 ml of the sauce evenly over the veg in the dish, shaking the dish to get the sauce all through the crevices. Save the remaining sauce to use as a dip or with another cheesy dish (it keeps for a week in the fridge!). Crush two big handfuls of tortilla chips and scatter them over the sauce. Then arrange the remaining sliced charred jalapeno over top. Cube the avocado and scatter that over the top as well.
  12. Bake until the nacho casserole is just starting to crisp up on top, 10 to 12 minutes. Spoon some of the green bean pico over the nachos and serve hot with the remaining pico. Enjoy!
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