Tuscan Stuffed Pasta Shells (Vegan)

Submitted by COOKGIRl

"From J.M. Hirsch's Venturesome Vegetarian Cooking. Thyme was replaced with fresh oregano; eggplant replaced with zucchini. You'll notice there's another interesting herb added to this recipe... Note: for dairy version, switch out ricotta cheese or cottage cheese for the tofu and add some shredded mozzarella, parmenan, asiago, etc.- (about 3/4 cup cheese)."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 3 medium zucchini, unpeeled
• 16 -20 large pasta shells (suitable for stuffing)
• 1 lb firm tofu
• 1⁄4 cup kalamata olive, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lavender leaves, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh Greek oregano, finely minced
• 5 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups pasta sauce

directions

1. Grate the zucchini and set aside.
2. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the shells until al dente, approximately 6-8 minutes.
3. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water. Set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Place the grated zucchini in a large mixing bowl. Crumble the tofu and add to the bowl. Add remaining ingredients except for the olive oil and pasta sauce. Mix well.
6. Coat a 13"x 9" baking dish with olive oil.
7. Fill each pasta shell with approximately 2 tablespoons of the zucchini-tofu filling.
8. Arrange the shells, filling side up in the prepared baking dish.
9. Pour the pasta sauce over the top, allowing some of the sauce to dribble to the bottom of the baking dish.
10. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes.
11. Remove aluminum foil last 5 minutes of baking.
12. Serve hot.

Reviews

[Chef Pollo]

YUM!!! This was really great, we loved it. The flavour tasted gourmet w/ the lavendar leaves. I used old fashioned cottage cheese and 'La Molisana' pasta sauce (basil/pomodoro), I also added four mushrooms - minced. I also added parmasan to the top. The extra mushies definitely added moisture to the finished product, but w/ a crusty roll or garlic bread to sop it up, I'd be in heaven! Thanks for the recipe, the best I've had in a while!

 

[Wildjoy]

I love this recipe. I used Herbs de Provence, that included lavender and the other herbs, in place of the individual herbs.