Vegan Mofo Day 12: Tater Tot Casserole w/ Cashew Cream

When I saw SnarkyVegan's White Trash Tator Tot Casserole w/ Daiya, I was absolutely fascinated. What a wondrous creation! I knew immediately this dish would be in my future.

Well, tonight, it's in my tummy. Yum!

I will say this is just about the strangest thing I've cooked yet (I've never made casserole of any kind before) and I wasn't sure how hubz was going to take it. I gently warned him as I was whipping this up that I was making something very different and should it fail, there's still leftover curry in the fridge, LOL!

My hesitation in the success of this dish laid not in SnarkyVegan's recipe but in my modification of it. Instead of using Daiya cheese, I opted for cashew cream because I've never really liked cheese in anything except on pizza. And guess what? I've never made cashew cream before either, hence my apprehension at the success of this meal.

Here's my modified recipe:

Tater Tot Casserole w/ Cashew Cream

Cashew cream:
2 cups soaked raw cashew
1 cup plant-based milk (I used soy milk)
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Casserole:
1/2 cup corn
1/4 cup pea
whole head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
1 bag of tator tots

Instructions:
1. Blend raw cashew with 1/2 cup of soy milk or as needed for creamy consistency.
2. Heat oil in pan and create roux by adding flour.
3. Add cashew cream to roux. Mix. Add the other 1/2 cup of soy milk. Mix.
4. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. If the cream becomes too thick, add more milk.
5. Arrange the vegetables in the casserole dish and pour the cashew cream over it.
6. Arrange the tator tots in rows on top.
7. Bake at 375 F degrees for half hour (or until the tator tots brown).
(SnarkyVegan baked for an hour but my tots turned really brown at the 30 min mark so I took it out so it wouldn't burn. Luckily the vegetables were well cooked!)

Serves 4-5

In hindsight, I probably didn't need the roux but I'm just writing down what I did for your reference.

The verdict?

We liked it! So much so we went for second helpings and had to stop ourselves from overeating. There's exactly enough for tomorrow's dinner and I can't wait. Woohoo!