Makaronia Tou Fournou (Pastitsio)

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Makaronia Tou Fournou

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M

This is my vegan version of a classic Cypriot dish. It’s a creamy macaroni with béchamel sauce, and I’ve used mushrooms, walnuts and tofu for the mince. Perfect for Sunday lunch and great for freezing, too. You’ll need a large baking dish for this, about 35cm x 25cm.

Ingredients

• 1 red onion
• 3-5 garlic cloves
• 500g mushrooms
• 400g extra-firm tofu
• 1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1½ tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dried mint
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 veggie stock cube
• 4 tbsp vegan butter
• 500g bucatini (or sub for rigatoni)
• 50g walnuts
• 150g vegan cheese, grated
• olive oil
• salt
• black pepper

FOR THE BÉCHAMEL

• 90g vegan butter
• 80g plain flour
• 1L soya milk
• 100g vegan cheese, grated
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Roughly chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
2. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Heat a good drizzle of olive oil and add the onion. Cook for 5 mins until softened, then add the mushroom and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and turn up the heat. Cook for 5-8 mins, then crumble in the tofu. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, dried mint and basil, cinnamon and tomato purée, then crumble in the stock cube. Cook over a high heat for about 10 mins, stirring often. Add 2 tbsp vegan butter and cook for a few more minutes until caramelised.
3. Next, make the béchamel. Melt the butter in a separate pan, then add the flour. Stir the flour and butter together and cook for a few minutes over a low heat. It will clump together to form a thick paste. Slowly add the soya milk, a splash at a time, and stir well to combine and smooth out any lumps before adding more milk.
4. When you have added about half of the milk, add half of the grated cheese and nutritional yeast (and mustard, if using) to the béchamel and whisk until melted and smooth. Continue adding the milk slowly and switch to a whisk to ensure it is smooth. Keep whisking and cooking until the béchamel has thickened and has no lumps. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and a pinch of cinnamon, if you like. Set aside.
5. Cook the pasta following pack instructions and drain. Tip it back into the cooking pot and stir through 1-2 tbsp vegan butter and a handful of vegan cheese.
6. To assemble, spread half of the buttery pasta across the bottom of a baking dish, top with the mushroom tofu mince, then the rest of the pasta. Flatten the pasta down as best you can and then pour over the béchamel. Top with the remaining vegan cheese and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Cover tightly with foil.
7. Bake for 20 mins at 180C covered with foil, then 10-15 mins uncovered, until golden and bubbly. Leave to cool and set for at least 10 mins before serving. Suitable for freezing.