Stuffed shells

I don’t know why I don’t make more stuffed shells, because they’re really good. Maybe it’s because I always think they’re going to be more work than they actually are. There’s nothing fancy about these. Just satisfying comfort food. The pictures are also pretty dull – but we all know what stuffed shells look like, right? This recipe uses a tofu “ricotta” and spinach filling, but you could use pretty much anything. You can replace the spinach with mushrooms, or add mushrooms to it. Pretty much any vegetable will work for the stuffing, but be sure to remove as much water as possible so that it doesn’t make the shells mushy. The tofu ricotta is based on the one from Vegan With a Vengeance, but I use roasted garlic instead.

Before covering in sauce

See why a gave a picture of them before the sauce is added?  Not much to see here.

Stuffed shells

1 box of shell pasta, cooked a little less than al dente (since they’ll cook more in the oven)
Marinara sauce (no I’m not giving you a recipe, but please don’t use a jarred sauce)

For the Tofu “ricotta” and spinach filling:
2 – 12 oz. packages of silken tofu
2 teaspoons of olive oil
½ cup of nutritional yeast (nooch)
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons roasted garlic
2 tablespoons of basil, finely minced
1 lb. of spinach, blanched, squeezed dry and finely chopped (frozen works well too)

Mash the ricotta ingredients together with a fork until well blended. Taste it and make sure it’s balanced. Add more salt, garlic, or lemon juice if you think it needs it. Mix the spinach in.

Add a thin layer of tomato sauce to the bottom of a baking dish that's large enough to hold the shells in a single layer.  Stuff the shells and put them seam side down in the baking dish and top with tomato sauce. Baked in a 350 oven for 45 minutes until bubbly. Eat and wonder why you don’t make them more often since they’re so damn good and so easy.