Broccoli with Carrot “Cheese” Sauce

I’m not generally a fan of “faux” food.  Recipes that try to approximate a missing ingredient feel misguided to me in intent - why linger on what is not there instead of celebrating what is?  The sentiment seems to come from a place of deprivation instead of from a place of abundance.  And who wants to focus on deprivation?  So let’s just call this Broccoli with Carrot Sauce and leave the “Cheese” out of it!

Coming from a place of abundance certainly applies to my experience in testing this recipe.  I was a little skeptical when I happened to flip on the Rachel Ray show and see The Galloping Gourmet (Graham Kerr), whipping this up.  But I was also drowning in both carrots and broccoli, thanks to our most recent CSA delivery.  And while the original recipe uses cauliflower, I was confident the broccoli would be a suitable stand in.  One little can of evaporated skim milk and I was ready to go.

There are recipes that deliver on their promises, and recipes that don’t.  This recipe, thankfully, delivers.  Despite the lack of fat, the combination of pureed root vegetable, dijon, and spice tastes deceptively rich.  The combination of carrot and cumin is particularly successful.  I was generous with the spices - adding an 1/8 tsp of the cumin and cayenne in place of the “pinch” - and maybe a little liberal with the parmesan.  Other than that, following the recipe pretty much worked out.  Just be careful not to let the evaporated milk reduce too much as the carrots are cooking or the mixture will be a little thick.  I am going to suggest this recipe to my parents, who will love the bold flavors sans fat!

You can find the recipe for Broccoli (Cauliflower) with Carrot (“Cheese”) Sauce here.