Total Recipe Yield: 6聽servings
Portion Size: 6 shells
Vegan:听驰别蝉
LO Vegetarian:听驰别蝉
Contains Pork:听狈辞
Contains Alcohol:听狈辞
Ingredients
Pasta
- 1 pound聽Jumbo Stuffing Shell Pasta (filling also works for lasagna)
- 1 Drizzle Cold-Pressed Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Stuffing
- 1 pound Firm Non-GMO Tofu (preferably organic)
- 2 teaspoon Basil
- 2 teaspoon聽Oregano
- 1 teaspoon聽Thyme
- 4-6 large cloves Fresh Garlic -- finely chopped (& left to stand for 10 minutes)
- 2 tablespoon Mustard
- To Taste Black Pepper (a generous amount)
- 1聽Acorn Squash -- baked from a previous meal (or sub a large bunch of spinach 鈥� chopped; or a large bag of mushrooms 鈥� saut茅ed with fresh parsley)
- To Taste Nutmeg (a light sprinkle)
- To Taste Salt (a light sprinkle)
Sauce
- 4 cups Fra Diavolo Tomato Sauce (unsweetened)
Topping
- 录 cup Nutritional Yeast
- 录 cup Small Walnut Pieces
- 录 cup Sesame Seeds
- To Taste Salt (a medium sprinkle)
- NOTE: We call a mixture of the above 4 ingredients 鈥淔aux-mano鈥�, think Romano. 聽Make a double batch to have extra for adding at serving.
- To Taste Crushed Red Pepper
- 1-2 cups Vegetables or Salad as the side dish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add shells to plenty of rapidly boiling water for 5-6 minutes 鈥� until just soft enough to be flexible. 聽Drain the pot, then oil the pasta and set it aside.
- While the water is coming to a boil, chop the garlic and set aside.
- Drain the tofu then crumble it in a bowl (squeezing it through your fingers works well) until it resembles roughly crumbled feta cheese.
- To the tofu add the basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, mustard and black pepper. 聽Stir the mixture. 聽Taste and add more herbs/seasoning or mustard if the flavor would benefit.
- With a spoon, scoop the previously-baked, nutmeg and salt seasoned squash from its skin and slightly mash it with a fork.
- Fold the squash into the tofu, but don鈥檛 over-mix.
- Coat the bottom of a large, deep baking pan with 1-2 cups of the tomato sauce.
- Fill the shells with the tofu and squash mixture and place them in the sauce. 聽Once the pan is full, pour the remaining sauce over the stuffed shells.
- Cover and bake for 45 minutes.
- While the shells bake, stir together the nutritional yeast, walnuts and sesame seeds. 聽(If using whole or roughly chopped walnuts, use a heaping 录 cup, and place the nuts in a food processor, pulse several times, then add the yeast and seeds and pulse a few more times.)
- When the shells come out of the oven, coat the batch with the 鈥淔aux-mano鈥� and sprinkle with salt.
- Serve with crushed red pepper and more 鈥淔aux-mano鈥� available for additional seasoning and with a side of sauteed dark leafy greens or a cruciferous or green vegetable or a garden salad.
Why did you choose to submit this recipe?
"When our family first became various degrees of vegan, I still wanted to be able to share our Italian food traditions; so, I developed this recipe for stuffed shells/lasagna, and it became a frequently requested hit -- especially the squash version. 聽The tofu provides more protein with none of the dairy; the garlic and herbs provide regional flavor; the vegetable choice provides seasonal flavor, and the mustard and nutritional yeast provide a hint of cheese's tanginess and savoriness. 聽Inara would often request that this dish be included on holiday or special occasion menus and has mentioned missing the flavors of this meal at school. 聽I hope others now enjoy it too." -聽础苍补蝉迟补蝉颈补听翱'惭补濒濒别测
