Beautiful kittens! How is life treating you these days? It’s nearly Halloween, can you believe it?! I just thought of sharing this recipe very quickly with you, because I feel we need a lot of comfort with all that is happening around the world. And what best comfort food if not PASTA?! And there is the recipe for a vegan ricotta within the main recipe! What’s not to like? So, without further ado, here are the Vegan Stuffed Shells Florentine by ConnoisseurusVeg.

Ingredients

• 6 ounces dried jumbo pasta shells (about 20 shells)

For the Quick Tomato Sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ large onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (28 ounce or 794 gram) can crushed tomatoes
• ½ tablespoon organic granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn and lightly packed

For the Vegan Ricotta Florentine

• ½ cup roughly chopped onion (about ½ of a medium onion)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup raw cashews soaked in water 4-8 hours, rinsed and drained
• ½ cup unflavored and unsweetened soy or almond milk
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) package extra firm tofu, drained and broken into 5-6 large chunks
• ½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped and lightly packed

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook them according to the package directions.
2. Drain the pasta into a colander, then return it to the pot and toss it with a few dashes of olive oil. Set aside.

Make the Quick Tomato Sauce

1. Coat the bottom of a medium saucepan with oil and place it over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and sauté it with the onion 1 minute more, until very fragrant.
3. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and lower the heat.
4. Allow the sauce to simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Stir in the basil and remove the sauce from the heat. Taste test and season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Make the Vegan Ricotta Florentine

1. Place the onion, garlic, cashews, milk and lemon juice into bowl of food processor. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
2. Add the tofu, salt and pepper. Pulse the machine until a thick and slightly chunky, ricotta-like texture is achieved, again, stopping to scrape down the sides of bowl as needed.
3. If some space remains in food processor bowl, add the spinach and pulse until finely chopped and well blended. Otherwise, transfer mixture to a bowl and stir the spinach in by hand.
4. Taste-test and season the mixture with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Make the Stuffed Shells Florentine

1. Preheat the oven to 400º. Coat the bottom of a 9 inch by 9 inch baking dish or 10 inch round oven-safe skillet with about half of sauce.
2. Stuff the shells with the ricotta mixture and arrange them in a single layer in the baking dish or skillet. Top with the remaining sauce.
3. Cover and bake the shells for 20-25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly.
4. Remove the shells from the oven and allow them to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

It’s easy and delicious!

Love,

TVCL xx