Okay, so I have tried every vegan cheese under the sun and they just don’t do it for me. The most recent one is Daiya which is decent and does melt. However, it still has that weird after taste. Now, I have had it out at restaurants and it was great. Once at The Other Side, I had vegan nachos with Daiya cheese and they were really good. I just don’t like to cook with it myself.
I was wondering down the street in Bisbee, Arizona recently looking for a restaurant. I saw a little sign near a side street that said, POCO Mexican Food. Perfect, so I went down the alley and saw this adorable little place. There was a counter to order from and then seats outside. I went in and proceeded to ask the usual questions. “Do you use meat in your beans?” The lovely woman behind the counter looked at me quizzically and said, “No…”
“Oh great,” I said,”and how about your rice, do you use chicken stock?” She looked at me even more confused and said, “um, we don’t use any meat here. We are a vegan restaurant.” I almost jumped over the counter and hugged her!
Turns out the owners are from NYC and opened POCO last year. Kelly Galligan, one of the owners, came out to chat with us and even brought us some Nachos to try. Oh my goodness, they were so good. They make a nacho cheese sauce with nutritional yeast which is really good and lends itself to different interpretations and uses. Here it is:
Nacho Cheese Sauce
Hello Mimi,
Thanks for coming in to POCO with your family the other day!
Below, the cheesy sauce recipe I promised to send, in its original form. We skip the tomatoes and mustard.
It’s super easy to multiply this, and keep it in dry form til you need it (add water & cook to order). Once made, it also lasts a while in the fridge — if you can resist eating it! 🙂
Hope you’re enjoying your travels, and that we’ll see you again soon —
best,
kelly
1/3 c nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
dash – garlic powder
dash – chili powder
1 c water
2 T vegan margarine (earth balance)
1 – 10 oz can of Rotel (or any other diced tomatoes w/green chilis, drained)
2 tsp prepared yellow mustard
1. Combine all dry ingredients in a small pan
2. Add water, turn on medium heat
3. Stir constantly til thickened, remove from heat
4. Add in margarine, Rotel, & mustard. Stir til margarine melts.
5. Return to medium heat to heat through.
Gluten-free Version
Some of my friends are gluten-free. This recipe can be made with Masa Harina instead of wheat flour. Masa Harina is the flour used for making tortillas and tamales. You might as well get some since I will be posting a tamale recipe soon!
On Top
If you want it to look all fancy and pretty, sprinkle with black beans, avocado, chopped tomato and red onion. If you want it to be neat however, just put some beans and the cheesy sauce on. Then serve quacamole, salsa, and vegan sour cream on the side. Enjoy!
