Oct 5

Oct 5 pumpkin & ricotta stuffed shells w/ sage bechamel

Nothings screams fall more than pumpkin. These vegan ricotta and pumpkin stuffed shells are delicious and comforting, a perfect fall recipe. Not to mention that everybody loves a baked pasta dish so this one is a real crowd pleaser too! crispy pasta edges with a creamy pumpkin filling, covered in a generous amount of vegan parmesan and sage infused bechamel sauce.

I’ve get asked quite a lot how to replace cheese in Italian recipes and to be honest; it really is simpler than it looks. Once you know how to use certain vegan staples a whole other world opens before your eyes. So today we are making ricotta cheese out of tofu. Tofu ricotta was one of my first ever ideas and I still use it to this day. You can use it in savory recipes like these but it works great in sweet recipes too!

The only thing you have to do to make tofu ricotta is crumble the ricotta, place it in a blender with a splash of water and mix until it resembles ricotta. Then you have to season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. You could also add a little nutritional yeast, but that is totally optional, especially if you are using my favorite vegan parmesan in your recipes. ;)

Recipe

This recipe serves 4 people

Ingredients

1/2 hokkaido pumpkin, deseeded and cubed
350 gr of giant pasta shells, precooked halfway
200 gr of firm tofu
10 gr of fresh sage
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs of flour
2 tbs of vegan butter
vegan milk, unsweetened
my favorite vegan parmesan cheese
2 pinches of ground nutmeg
salt and pepper

How to

Start by placing the cubed pumpkin in a sauce pan and cover with water. Season with salt and cook the pumpkin until soft.
Meanwhile place the tofu in a blender with a splash of water and blend until it resembles a ricotta texture. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Set aside.
Make the bechamel by melting the butter in a sauce pan. Once melted add the flour.
Whisk vigorously to form a roux for about a minute or so.
Add the milk and whisk to get out all of the e clumps.
Add half of the sage to the bechamel and season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
Let the bechamel heat through and add more milk if the sauce is too thick. You want it to be quite runny cause it will thicken up in the oven while cooking.
Once the pumpkin is soft, drain and add to a blender along with the ricotta, garlic, a good amount of vegan parmesan to taste and blend until creamy and unified.
Season with salt and pepper.
Stuff each cooked pasta shell with the pumpkin ricotta and lace them side by side in a baking dish.
Drizzle over the sage infused bechamel and grate over some more parmesan.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C until the pasta shells are cooked through, crispy on the edge and the bechamel has thickened. Should take about 20-30 minutes.
Serve straight out of the oven.
Buon appetito!