Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fit a baking sheet with a wire rack and set aside.

Step 2

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the red pepper flakes and shallots and gently cook until the shallots are soft, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and stir to coat. Cook, flipping them a couple of times and adding a splash of the sherry to deglaze the skillet if it dries out too much, until the mushrooms are well-browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Deglaze with the rest of the sherry and the Worcestershire and soy sauces, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. Cook until the alcohol dissipates, about 2 more minutes. Season generously with salt.

Step 3

Just before the mushrooms are done, brush the entire sub rolls with the reserved giardiniera oil and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake to slightly crisp up, 4 to 5 minutes. Slice or hand-split the rolls from the top.

Step 4

Ladle 1/2 cup Cashew Cheese Sauce into the mushrooms and mix. Let it all heat up and “marry” in the skillet. Immediately spoon the mushroom mixture into the crusty rolls, ladle with more sauce and top with the giardiniera.

Step 5

In a small saucepan, add the cashews, carrots, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 1/2 cups cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the carrots are fork-tender, about 12 minutes.

Step 6

Carefully add the warm cashew mixture, including the liquid, to a blender. Add the nutritional yeast, lemon juice and salt to taste. Blend on high speed, adding more water if necessary, until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds.