Hello everyone, it’s lovely to see you again.
Italian food is loved by everyone, that herby, tomatoey goodness oozing with cheese, what’s not to love!!
Cheese is one of the most missed foods if you're vegan and the vegan cheeses just don’t taste the same, although they’re getting better, YAY!!
As a family, we have always been vegetarian but now two of my daughters are totally vegan and my other daughter and I are, I would say 80-90% vegan.
I reduced my dairy intake when I found out that it would help with my MS, and if I’m honest, I feel so much less bloated since I dropped cow’s milk and I’ve seen really positive results as well.
So, today I thought I'd bring you a recipe that is so tasty, creamy, and delicious, you won't miss the cheese at all.
Stuffed pasta shells filled with creamy cashews topped with a tomato sauce. If you're vegan and love Italian because you're craving a cheesy treat, you must try this recipe:
Serves - 4 to 6
Soaking time: - 4 hours
Prep time: - 40 minutes
Cooking Time - 35 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
For the vegan ricotta:
400g cashews
120ml water
1 lemon – juiced
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic
½ tsp onion granules
½ - 1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper – ground
For the tomato sauce:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic – minced
2 tins of tomatoes - blended
3 tbsp basil – chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp chili flakes (optional)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper – ground
The rest:
20 - 25 Conchiglie Rigate (giant pasta shells)
150g fresh spinach (chopped) or 300g frozen spinach
1 - 2 tbsp vegan parmesan cheese – grated
basil to garnish – chopped
METHOD:
To make the vegan ricotta:
Soak the cashews for 4 hours.
Once soaked, put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until you have a smooth paste.
Cover mixture and place in the fridge until ready to use.
To make the tomato sauce:
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the garlic for 1 minute.
Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil. Stir and turn down to simmer.
Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Once cooked, taste and add more salt or pepper if needed, turn off the heat and leave to cool.
Stuffed pasta:
When you’re ready to make the stuffed pasta shells, preheat oven to 200⁰c.
Mix the spinach with the vegan ricotta and set aside.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and turn off. Drop the pasta into the water for at least 5 minutes.
Put half of the tomato sauce into the baking dish and spread.
Take one of the pasta shells out of the water and stuff with the vegan ricotta and put this into the baking dish on top of the sauce.
Continue until you have filled all the shells.
Once shells are filled and in the baking dish, pour the rest of the sauce over the top and sprinkle the vegan parmesan over the top.
Cover the dish with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes.
Serve with a garnish of chopped basil
TIPS:
Stuff the pasta shells in advance and place them in the fridge for up to 24 hours in the fridge before baking. Cover with cling film to stop them drying out,
Make the vegan ricotta and tomato sauce ahead of time and store, covered in the fridge until you’re ready to use.
The vegan ricotta can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days in a sealed container.
Tomato sauce can also be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 – 4 days.
The ricotta and tomato sauce is great on other dishes too, and as they are vegan can be used as substitutes in other recipes.
If you’re not vegan, you can substitute the vegan ricotta and vegan parmesan for dairy cheeses.
Ideal as a starter or main. Really easy to make and will impress all your friends and family.
If you have a go at making stuffed pasta shells, let you know in the comments below. Also, let me know if you altered the recipe at all, I love hearing about different ways that we all cook.
I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I did and i hope to see you again soon.
Until next time, Happy Cooking! 💖
See method in pictures below:
