Easy, Creamy Macaroni Yum Sauce

This sauce is like rich, creamy heaven.  The starchiness of the potatoes and the creaminess of the cashews combine in a way that is just splendid.  The sauce clings well to pasta and has a melty and decadent mouthfeel.  Its super easy to prepare as all the vegetables are boiled together in one pot and then just pureed up in a blender (or, if you have one, a Vitamix).

I originally started making this sauce as a vegan alternative to mac-n-cheese, but we have found that it goes well beyond that role.  Add a dollop to the top of cooked green beans.  Toss with roast vegetables.  Use it in recipes calling for a white sauce.  Dilute with stock for a rich and luscious soup.  It really does make a dank mac-n-cheese type meal though, hence it being known as Macaroni Yum Sauce.  I highly recommend it in that capacity.

Easy, Creamy Macaroni Yum Sauce

1 - 2 potatoes, chopped
1 - 2 carrots, chopped
1 - 2 C cauliflower
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 C cashews
1 1/2 C water 
1 t onion powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t salt
2 T nooch (totally optional)

Chop all vegetables into fairly equal sized pieces.
Start a pot of water to boil.
Add potato and cauliflower and boil for two minutes.
Add carrot and boil for five minutes.
Add onion and boil for seven minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
Drain reserving some of the cooking water  Combine cooked veg and all remaining ingredients in a blender and process until very smooth.  

Serve tossed with short pasta, or in any other capacity you see fit.

Feel free to play around with the vegetables.  The recipe is very forgiving.  One time I only had one potato when it called for two.  However, I had some cauliflower so I just subbed that in instead.  It proved to be a swell addition to the recipe.   I love the taste of nutritional yeast (a.k.a. nooch).  Lately I've taken to adding a couple of tablespoons to the sauce.  Its not critical, but I like the depth of savory flavor it adds.   Same goes for the onion and garlic powders.  They're not required, they just add to the depth of flavor.