Dairy-Free Stuffed Shells with Spinach in Nello's Sauce
Hello, the future Mrs. Nello here! I was recently appointed by Nello to head up the Nello’s Sauce Recipe Division based in our home here in Raleigh, North Carolina. As you can imagine, there is no lack of Nello’s Sauce in our house and it has been a hobby of mine to find creative ways to use it in recipes. I’m here to show you that Nello’s can be used for more than pizza, pasta, and dipping! My first recipe is a healthy twist on the classic Italian dish, Conchiglie ripiene, or "Stuffed Shells." As you can see on the label, Nello’s Sauce is vegan, so I wanted to do a recipe that showcases this. However, you can always substitute ricotta cheese to make the dish more traditional and leave out the nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast gives the tofu a cheesy flavor. You can find it in the bulk bins at your local natural foods supermarket, like Fresh Market or Whole Foods. This recipe is adapted from Jenna Weber's found on the PBS Food Blog.
Ingredients
Click on the picture to enlarge.
Note: You'll need olive oil (not pictured), about 2 tbsp. Also, get as much water as you can out of the tofu by wrapping it in a towel and placing a heavy object (like a book) on top for 15 minutes.
Recipe
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and by cooking the jumbo shells according to the package directions in boiling water with a pinch of salt. Sauté the onion in olive oil until browned. Drain the shells and let them cool while you prepare the "ricotta" mixture. Use your hands to break apart the tofu into the food processor.
Add the salt, garlic, nutritional yeast, oregano, olive oil, and onion, and pulse until combined--don’t liquefy. Next, add the defrosted spinach to the food processor and combine until almost smooth, you will recognize the ricotta texture!
Pour about half of a jar of Nello’s Sauce into the bottom of a pan (at least 9 x 13)
Using your thumb to open the shell, stuff each with about 2 tbsp of the filling.
Close the shell and place seam side down into the pan.
Finish stuffing as many shells as you can fit into the pan (we always "lose" some to a quick dip into the remaining sauce!). Top with a full jar of Nello’s Sauce.
Carefully spread the sauce evenly over the shells.
