As it often my way, I looked at an assortment of recipes and combined them into something I thought would work.  The “ricotta” is mostly a cross between two different recipes in Veganomicon.  My original plan was to mix in spinach, but since I had the chard, used that.  Good thing, too, because without it, I would have been pretty short on stuffing, so definitely pick a green, or if you can’t stand the idea of vegetables mixed in, make extra ricotta.  You could also modify this recipe slightly for lasagna, which would maybe be a little less fancy but also save the stuffing time, though you’d have a higher pasta ratio.

The end result was quite delicious and I would definitely like to make this again.  Leftovers have been fantastic.  Even with the work of stuffing the shells, it was still pretty fast, and the most time-consuming part was our friend M. (who is a wonderful person, but a little slow in the kitchen) tearing and washing the chard.  But if you use frozen greens, this is *really* fast.

Fresh out of the oven!

Stuffed Shells

for the stuffing

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 lb extra firm tofu, excess liquid pressed out
• handful basil leaves, chopped
• cooked, chopped, drained chard (or thawed, chopped, and drained package of frozen spinach)

for the chard

• 2 bunches chard or spinach or similar leafy green, rinsed and chopped/torn into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• olive oil

and

• 1 box giant pasta shells
• 1 quart tomato sauce (perhaps I will someday post my recipe, but you can use store-bought, too)

Do this

1. Cook the shells according to package directions in well-salted water.  Drain and rinse in cool water.
2. Cook the chard: Saute garlic in olive oil over medium heat for a couple of minutes, then add chard, sprinkle with a little salt, and cover.  Stir as needed and when chard is darkened and cooked through, uncover to cook off excess liquid and/or squeeze it out.
3. Blend the first six stuffing ingredients thoroughly and transfer to bowl.  Crumble in tofu and mix well to ricotta-like texture.  Stir in the basil and chard and keep mixing until the greens are all through.
4. Cover the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan with ~1/3 of the sauce, then fill the shells (I used a regular spoon) and line them up in the pan.  This recipe was just right to stuff enough shells to fill the pan, though I had a bunch of empty shells left over.  Maybe they give you extra to account for breakage?  I dunno.  Pour the rest of the sauce over the top.
5. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

All stuffed and ready to be sauced

]]> http://frogfood.peace.net/index.php/2011/06/20/stuffed-shells/feed/ 0 http://frogfood.peace.net/index.php/2007/10/17/grilled-marinated-tofu/ http://frogfood.peace.net/index.php/2007/10/17/grilled-marinated-tofu/#comments Thu, 18 Oct 2007 02:19:19 +0000 jude http://frogfood.peace.net/index.php/2007/10/17/grilled-marinated-tofu/ Despite being a long-time veg*n and lover of bean curd in many forms, I was never really into marinating it. I’d tried, but it rarely seemed worth the trouble. Until I found this recipe in The Kripalu Cookbook, that is, and my life changed forever. Designed to be served cold, it is indeed delicious out of the fridge on its own or in a salad, but is also wonderful grilled, baked, fried, or just heated in the microwave. Even my self-proclaimed tofu-hating (and non-veg) roommate, who humors me by tasting whatever I cook, surprised us both by going back for seconds the very first time I made it, and, even more shockingly, has since asked me to make it again!

I usually cut the tofu into slices, but cubed it this time to facilitate skewering. It was hands-down the best grilled tofu I’ve ever had.

Marinated Tofu

Ingredients

• 1 pound firm tofu, drained
• 1/2 cup water
• scant 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 1 1/2 Tbsp mirin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp whole cloves (or 1/8 tsp ground)
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 1/4 tsp salt
• A grind or two ground black pepper

Wrap the tofu in a clean towel, top with a weighted plate or other heavy object for at least 10 minutes to press out water, or use your preferred method for same. (Don’t do this if you’re using silken tofu!)

In a small saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Cut the tofu into cubes or slices are desired and put into a bowl. Cover the tofu with the marinade and marinate overnight.

Add to a salad, grill, fry, eat plain, whatever. Or top slices with caramelized onions and bake. (Sometimes I include the caramelized onions with the marinade, too.)  This stuff is so good baked.