Baked Mac & Cheese Balls

Serves 6.

Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz.) packet of rice or lentil based macaroni pasta
• 2 cup of unsweetened almond or cashew Milk

Cheese Sauce

• 1 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight
• 1 medium sized carrot, steamed
• 1 large potato, peeled and steamed
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 large pitted date
• 1 cup of unsweetened almond or cashew milk
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• ½ teaspoon of black pepper

Crispy Coating

• 2 cups organic puffed brown rice cereal
• ½ cup of tapioca flour
• ¼ tablespoon of raw hulled hemp seeds 

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. We need it al dente, so cook it 2 minutes less than the package instructions
2. Steam the potatoes and the carrot in a stovetop or microwavable steamer. Let it cool to room temperature. 
3. In a hi-speed blender or food processor, combine the steamed potato, carrots, soaked and drained cashew, lemon juice, garlic, pitted date, sea salt and pepper. Add half of the milk and blend/process till smooth. You would need to pause and scrape down the sides. Keep adding more milk gradually till it becomes a thick smooth sauce.
4. Save about a cup of the sauce for dipping and pour the rest of the sauce over the cooked pasta. Mix well.
5. Using a cookie or an ice-cream scoop, drop scoopful of the pasta into parchment lined cookie sheets, making sure that they are as round as possible. Chill it in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours.
6. Meanwhile, combine the puffed brown rice cereal, tapioca flour and the hemp seeds in a food processor. Pulse in short burst till it looks almost like breadcrumbs.
7. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400F and like couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper. Also, pour out the almond milk in small bowl and the crispy coating in a shallow bowl.
8. Dip each mac and cheese ball in the almond milk, then roll it in the bowl of crispy coating, making sure every bit of the ball is covered with the coating. Carefully place it in the prepared cookie sheet. 
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crispy coating just begins to crisp. Then broil for a minute or two till the coating gets a golden brown color. 
10. Serve hot with the reserved cheese sauce.