Gastography

Ooh. This turned out better than I expected. It’s not quite the same as the stuffed shells I used to make, since I generally use pork Italian sausage and my husband’s marinara, but it was pretty great nonetheless.

Gluten-free

Vegan Ricotta Stuffed Shells (Halal)

1 lb. ground veal
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 lb. smoked veal bacon
Big shells (gluten free or otherwise)
1/2 c. frozen spinach, thawed
Marinara sauce
Salt
Pepper
Dried basil
Dried oregano
Granulated garlic
Granulated onion

Vegan ricotta

1 block extra firm tofu, pressed
1 Tbsp. garlic oil
1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbsp. granulated onion
Juice of 2 lemons
2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
Salt & pepper

Chop the bacon and add to a large pan over medium-high heat with a couple squirts garlic oil. Sautée a few minutes until beginning to cook. Add the ground meats and break up. Season liberally with oregano, basil, salt, pepper, onion & garlic. Sautée until cooked through; taste and add more seasoning as necessary.

While the meat is working, pulse all ricotta ingredients together in a food processor until combined and it looks like ricotta cheese. Taste and add more salt or acid as needed.

Preheat the oven to roughly 350F and cook the shells to almost al dente. Drain.

To assemble, lay a thin layer of marinara in a baking dish, followed by some spinach. Combine equal parts meat mixture and cheese in a small bowl: stuff each shell to the Max with filling and nestle onto the marinara and spinach. Cover all with the rest of the marinara.

Bake 15 – 20 mins until the pasta has finished its cooking time and everything is nice and warmed through. I prefer the tips of my baked pasta to be the slightest bit burnt on the edges.

Serve with a generous sprinkle cashew Parmesan if you’ve got it.

Serves a bunch – this makes a ton of meat and enough ricotta to stuff enough shells for at least 4