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Vegan Stuffed Pasta Shells | With Homemade Tofu Ricotta
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
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36 conchiglioni (large pasta shells) Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling Tofu Ricotta: 260g soft/silken tofu 185g firm tofu Juice of 1/2 lemon 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 1 tsp nutritional yeast 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp garlic powder |
Filling: 2 garlic cloves chopped finely 285g cremini mushrooms minced salt to taste (1-2 tsp) black pepper to taste (1-2 tsp) 1/2 tsp dried ground thyme 1/2 tsp dried oregano 500g frozen spinach or 6 cups chopped spinach Italian Tomato Sauce: 2 cloves garlic smashed (leave intact) 796ml tomato passata (strained tomatoes) salt & black pepper to taste 6-8 fresh basil leaves |
Recipe
1.In a large mixing bowl, combine the soft tofu and firm tofu, mashing with a fork until it reaches the consistency of ricotta. Add in the lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, salt, and garlic powder. Stir until well-combined. Cover and refrigerate.2. Start making the tomato sauce. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil. Add the smashed garlic and sauté until lightly browned. Remove the garlic from the oil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add in the tomato passata. Add about 1/2 cup of water to the bottle and shake it, then pour the water into the sauce. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Using your hands, break up the fresh basil leaves into the sauce and stir. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pan partially, and cook for 15-20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the filling ingredients. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. Add the minced cremini mushrooms and cook until lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Add salt, black pepper, thyme, and oregano. Then add the spinach and cook for 5-7 minutes, until most of the water from the spinach has evaporated. Allow the filling to cool to the touch.
6. Cook the pasta for 1 minute less than what is instructed on the package. This is important to ensure that the pasta holds its shape when filled. Strain the pasta and rinse with cold water.
7. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil at the bottom of a 9x12 inch casserole dish. Spread a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish.
8. Combine the tofu ricotta and filling ingredients. Stuff each pasta shell with the ricotta and spinach filling, then place them side by side in the casserole dish. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the shells.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes (or up to 40 minutes, depending on how watery your sauce and spinach are).
Enjoy! :)
Notes
*Make sure your pasta is a bronze die pasta. This is a much better quality pasta and holds on to sauces much better than most commercial brands. Good quality pastas will be a lot whiter, whereas some commercial pastas can be more yellow. This is because they are dried much faster, and lose a lot of strength as a result.*Make sure the ingredients for your tomato passata only consist of tomatoes or tomatoes and salt.