Spinach And Ricotta Vegan Stuffed Shells Food

VEGAN STUFFED SHELLS WITH CASHEW RICOTTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Prepare the jumbo shells according to packaged directions. Strain through the water when shells are al dente. Do not overcook as they will become too tender to stuff. Allow shells to cool while preparing the filling.
• In a food processor blend together the ingredients for the Cashew Ricotta until it begins to resemble ricotta cheese. Add tofu, oregano, salt, and pepper and blend until evenly incorporated. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in parsley and spinach and set aside.
• Pour 1 cup of marinara sauce into a 9x13 baking pan. To stuff shells, gently press the top and the bottom with your fingers so that shells open width-wise. Spoon in 2 heaping tablespoons of spinach ricotta filling and place in the pan on top of the marinara sauce. Repeat until all the filling is gone. It should fill about 20 shells. Top with remaining marinara sauce.
• Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until sauce is hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and allow shells to cool slightly before serving.
• Serve with vegan parmesan and fresh parsley.

VEGAN STUFFED RICOTTA SHELLS

Steps:

• First, make the ricotta cheese. You will need a day in advance for this or to start soaking the almonds in the early morning to make this for dinner the day of.
• Add 5 quarts (20 cups) water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add 1/2 tablespoon of salt and the pasta shells. Give it a stir and cook until almost aldente, about 9 minutes. You want the shells just slightly undercooked since they will finish cooking in the oven and don't want them mushy or falling apart.
• Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water and set aside for a minute.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and get out a 9x13 baking dish.
• While the pasta is boiling, add the spinach to a large pan over medium-low heat with 2 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring constantly until it is just wilted-you don't want to overcook it, about 3-5 minutes. Add the cooked spinach to a strainer and let it cool a couple of minutes. Pick the spinach up with your hands and squeeze to strain the excess water, trying hard to get as much out as you can.
• Add the ricotta cheese to a large bowl with the spinach, Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir to mix very well.
• To the baking dish, add 1 cup of the pizza sauce and spread it out across the bottom. Stuff all the shells with about 2 heaping tablespoons of the ricotta mixture carefully and place into the dish, giving a bit of space in between each one.
• Spoon the remaining 2 cups of sauce in between and around the edges of the shells and a drizzle of it over the center of the shells (see photo). This allows the beauty of the shells to still be seen but still soak up some of that yummy sauce.
• Place a piece of foil over the dish and bake for 30 minutes until piping hot and bubbly. You won't technically see the bubbling, but you will hear it. Remove and let sit for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil.

SPINACH AND 'RICOTTA' VEGAN STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cook pasta shells according to package directions.
• Combine the cashew ricotta with the spinach, set aside.
• Pour the entire jar of pasta sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, spreading evenly to all edges. Alternately, pour half the pasta sauce, fill with stuffed shells, and pour the other half over top.
• Scoop out rounded tablespoon of the spinach-ricotta and stuff each of the pasta shells, placing them in the baking dish. (I was able to get 3 rows of 6, your results will vary depending on your baking dish.)
• Place baking dish, covered, in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, sauce should be bubbly. Remove cover, reduce heat to 375 degrees F. and cook for 10 - 15 minutes more.
• with fresh chopped herbs of choice and a good dusting of almond parmesan.
• Serves 6 (3 shells per serving)
• Cooked, or leftover, stuffed pasta shells can be stored in the refrigerator, in an air-tight container, for up to 5 days.

VEGAN RICOTTA & SPINACH STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain and set aside.
• Mean while bring a small pot of water to a boil. Place your raw almonds into the boiling water. Let boil for 2 minutes.
• Drain the almonds immediately in a colander or strainer and rinse them with cold water to cool them. Blot the almonds dry with a paper towel.
• Use your fingers to gently squeeze the almonds and loosen the skin from them. Set skinless almonds in a bowl and set aside.
• Remove tofu from package and wrap in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel and squeeze for 20 seconds to allow for excess water to strain.
• In a food processor or high speed blender combine tofu, blanched almonds, nutritional yeast, unsweetened almond milk, garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper. Blend for 1-2 minutes or until there is no chunks. Mixture will look lumpy and that is okay! Add more almond milk if needed.
• In a small pan cook chopped spinach with 1 tbsp on water for 1 minute or until spinach is wilted down.
• Once ricotta mixture is made and spinach is ready, combine the two in a medium size bowl and mix well. Taste mixture and add any extra salt or seasonings if needed.
• Grab baking dish and pour 2 cups of marinara sauce on the bottom, spreading sauce evenly.
• Grab a spoonful of ricotta spinach mixture and spoon it into the cooked pasta shells. Be generous with the filling and then place the stuffed shells in the baking dish.
• Once all shells are stuffed place into the oven & bake for 20 minutes.
• Serve shells right our of the oven an pour extra marinara sauce on top of each shell. Finish off with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, chili flakes and enjoy!

SPINACH-RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; season with salt. (You should have about 4 heaping cups of sauce.)
• Make the stuffed shells: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook as the label directs for baking, about 9 minutes. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Spread out on a baking sheet.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a large plate lined with a kitchen towel. Squeeze to remove any excess liquid, then finely chop.
• Put the spinach in a large bowl and add the ricotta, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir until combined.
• To assemble, spread about half of the sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-14-inch baking dish. Evenly fill the shells with the spinach-ricotta mixture using a spoon, or pipe it in using a pastry bag. Arrange the shells side by side, open-side up, in the baking dish on top of the sauce, then top with the remaining sauce.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until heated through and the sauce is simmering around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until any shells or cheese poking through the sauce are lightly browned in spots, about 10 more minutes. Let sit 10 minutes. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes.

MOM'S SPINACH AND RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Bring 4 - 5 qts of water to a rolling boil, add 2 tbs of salt, gently add pasta, be sure to add extra shells as you will lose a few, cook for approximately 10 minutes, or it tests al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water. If pasta is starchy, you can toss in olive oil to prevent from sticking, but use sparingly as it will also prevent the cheese from sticking.
• While pasta is cooking start your sauce:.
• In an 6-8 qt pan brown meats over a medium hot burner, work it with a spoon until meat crumbles, add onion, then cook until dark brown, If there is an excessive amount of fat, drain and, optionally, rinse. Add garlic and season to taste. Cook until garlic is fragrant, use caution not to burn. Add sauce & paste, reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer until ready to serve, adjust seasoning as necessary.
• While meat sauce is cooking thaw and rinse and your spinach, I like to use the microwave , but you can rinse it under hot water. After draining all the water you can in a colander wrap the spinach in a very clean towel and twist to get the remaining water out, this is a critical step. When you get done the spinach will be VERY dry. Crumble the spinach in a large bowl, add ricotta, ¾ of the mozzarella, ¾ of the parmesan, mix, add egg, mix add seasonings/garlic and mix. Be sure to add enough salt here, the spinach really comes alive when seasoned properly.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• I like to bake the noodles in 8x12 foil pans, but you can use a single ½ sheet pan or a large casserole dish or a pair of 9x13 pans. Whatever you decide, lightly grease the pans, ladle in a generous amount of sauce. Each shell will take about 2 tablespoons of filling. They are very full, but not too top heavy. I fit about 20 shells in an 8x12 pan. Once the shells are filled and arranged, spoon a small amount of sauce on each one, sprinkle remaining cheeses on the top, cover with greased foil and bake for 25 minutes.
• If you are making the shells ahead of time you will need to adjust your cooking time, bake at 325 for 15 minutes or so, then raise temp to 350 and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes, until cheese is melted. At this point you can turn on the broiler (top element) and brown the cheeses.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes (or so) while you warm up your garlic bread.