Made Whole’s Cheesy Yellow Sauce

This amazing Cheesy Yellow Sauce will rock your world.

My sister has some skills…

Eating this sauce is an absolutely mind-blowing culinary experience, while making it is a revelation in ingredients and flavor. My sister, Margot, came into town this weekend extolling the virtues of a new cookbook that she had been cooking with over the past month or so. Margot is a Whole30 convert, who has basically been eating clean for about a year now. After living tiger blood for the first time back in November of 2017, she dove in and devoured (literally) everything she could about this new approach to food and flavor. My sister has always been a phenomenal cook (much better than I could ever hope to be) with a highly sophisticated palette and kitchen skills that rival professional chefs, so when she converted to this new approach to food, she had a breadth of culinary knowledge and talent that few of us do. She went from cooking “literally the best” anything you could think of to cooking “literally the best” Whole30 recipes- and she learned A LOT about Whole30 recipes and their creators. One of those stand-out creators and chefs is Cristina Curp, from The Castaway Kitchen, and author of the new cookbook, Made Whole.

Cheesy Yellow Sauce

Margot’s visit…

While Margot cooked for us during this past weekend, she talked about Cristina’s health journey and what brought this chef and mother to Whole30, AIP, and Keto. I was intrigued but wasn’t sold on buying yet another cookbook. Then she made this cheesy yellow sauce on football Sunday and the entire place went crazy. Seriously. Crazy. I have had paleo and Whole30 versions of cheese sauce with cashews, and don’t get me wrong, they were delicious, but they had nothing on this sauce. Cristina Curp’s knowledge of building flavors was revolutionary to me. Who would think to use uber-pungent coconut vinegar?? And with coconut milk?? All with nutritional yeast?? Wow is all I could come up with.

Cristina’s recommendations…

Not only is this delicious, it is nutrient dense. Cristina calls it “McGyvering a combination of seasonings, acidity, and umami” or an “old Paleo trick”. Whatever. Girl got me at crunch! One word of caution: if you are sensitive to garlic, use about half of what is called for in the recipe (use about 1/2 tsp). We used this sauce for our nachos and some creamy mac n cheese (hey, it was football Sunday, after all) but Cristina Curp recommends spooning it over kelp noodles, beef carnitas, or with prosciutto chips. However you serve this sauce, be sure to share this healthy dose of savory with those you love. You’ll solidify that special part of their heart that only you (and that cheese sauce) can occupy.

Looking for a great grain-free tortilla to use with this sauce?

Plantain Tortilla Shells

Check out my Plantain Tortillas! They are easy and delicious and I use them for my Carnitas and Chicken Al Pastor.

Saying goodbye…

Monday morning rolled around and I had to take my sister to the airport so she could fly back home to Los Angeles; a task that I dread. She entertained my kids as we drove and everyone was happy until we pulled into Terminal B for the final farewell. Driving away from my sister when we drop her off at the airport is always the worst of it. The air is melancholy and the memories too fresh. I tried to take my mind off of her departure by occupying my distraught children and reinserting myself into my “mom” role. We arrived home to find a package on the front porch. I instantly knew what it was and my heart smiled. My sister had sent me my very own copy of Made Whole. I laughed out loud until I cried. This is exactly like Margot, always so thoughtful, to share with me something she is so passionate about. Cooking and sharing that passion for cooking with others is a profound act of love passed down through the generations. For me, the act of making this sauce is and will always be an ode to my sister.