Pasta tubes with a soft creamy centre flecked with spinach and slathered in a rich tomato sauce (with hidden veg)! Perfect! 😀
This week it has suddenly been very cold here! Definitely stay in the house and bake tasty food weather! 😛 Or is that just me! 😀 We’ve had soups, chickpeas and then this delicious hearty filling pasta dish! Oh, and we did a bit of baking of more mince pies (the mincemeat is finished now), cookies, and had a play with microwave mug cakes and a garlic dough ball loaf too!
You know what you should be cooking tonight though! Haggis! 😀 I’ve not made a new recipe for Burns night today as this haggis recipe is pretty good! 😀 If you’ve no idea what I’m talking about – this will confuse you even further! 😛 Here is a translation of the end of the ‘address to the haggis’ poem:
You powers, who make mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill of fare,
Old Scotland wants no watery stuff,
That splashes in small wooden dishes;
But if you wish her grateful prayer,
Give her [Scotland] a Haggis!
Although, I do like the original Scottish version:
Ye Pow’rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies:
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
Gie her a Haggis
I’m sure there will be a lot of celebrating tonight, in Scotland if nowhere else! Check out the haggis recipe above and read a bit about Burns night if you need to brush up your knowledge! 😀 Oh, and if you don’t know the traditional ingredients in a ‘haggis’ … I’ll let you find that out for yourselves!
Anyway, back to the cannelloni! As with most of our recipes, you can customise it to suit your family. Change the spices – maybe add some chilli flakes and make it spicy! You could hide more veg in the sauce (I’ll be in so much trouble should they start reading this 😛 )! Bake the cannelloni in a creamy sauce instead of, or as well as the tomato sauce. Change the cannelloni for lasagne sheets if you can’t find the tubes anywhere. If you’re not a pasta fan, or can’t find gluten free cannelloni use thin slices of aubergine or courgettes instead – have a look here for ideas!
You might think that the recipe makes a large quantity! It does! 😛 As this is quite a time consuming recipe, I suggest that you make enough for a few meals. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, or can be frozen for up to a month.
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Let’s look at the recipe!
Vegan ricotta with spinach stuffed into pasta tubes, covered in a rich tomato sauce.
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 medium courgette chopped
- 1 medium red pepper chopped
- 4 medium-large tomatoes and juice chopped
- 2 blocks firm tofu (drained but not pressed) (800-900g total)
- 1-2 lemons
- 8 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 4 tablespoons ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1-2 teaspoons salt to taste (we used pink Himalayan)
- 1/2-1 teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 300 g frozen spinach (squeezed to remove water)
- pinch nutmeg
- 1/2-3/4 cup tomato puree
- 1-2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 box cannelloni 250g box = 24 tubes
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Dry fry the onion in a large pan and add a splash a water to de-glaze the pan (this helps with browning rather than using oil). Add the garlic and continue cooking until softened.
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Add the courgette and pepper, add a splash more water if necessary and continue to cook until softened.
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Add the chopped tomatoes. Cover and allow to cook for ten minutes.
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Break the tofu block and put in a blender/processor with the lemon, nutritional yeast, garlic, almonds and mustard. Pulse, then blend until smooth.
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Add the salt, mix in and taste test. Add black pepper. (You may find it easier to mix in if you transfer it to a bowl.)
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Stir the spinach in, and the nutmeg. You could also add this to the tofu mix in the blender, although this will likely result in a green paste if you blend too much! Do a final taste test.
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Put the tomato mixture in the blender with the tomato puree and paprika. Season, then blend until smooth. Taste test.
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Assemble. Put a small amount of tomato sauce at the bottom of the dish (you can oil the dish if you wish). Stuff the cannelloni tubes with the tofu mixture. We find it easier to do this with a teaspoon (or fingers!) but feel free to use a piping bag if you wish! Place the filled tubes in an ovenproof dish leaving a small gap between them. Cover in the tomato sauce.
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Optional stage: If you wish, you can grate some cheese (or vegan cheese) over the top before baking, or crush up some plain tortilla chips and sprinkle these over instead / as well.
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Bake at Gas Mark 5 (375f / 190c) for 40 minutes.
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Enjoy!
- For quickness instead of using cannelloni, use lasagne sheets to layer the tofu and tomato sauce.
- If you don’t eat pasta, try making a lasagne, or roll ups using thin slices of aubergine or courgette slices (fill, wedge together in a dish, then pour the tomato sauce over).
- To make a cheesier sauce, you can add a spoon or two of cream cheese (we like Violife), or grated cheese (again Violife) to the tofu mix.
- Check the tomato sauce before baking – you may need to add a bit of water if the sauce is too thick.
- Make the tofu and the tomato sauce the day before, then stuff and assemble when ready to bake.
- For quickness, use your favourite tomato sauce (or passata) recipe (or ready made) instead of this hidden veg one!
- Serve with garlic bread (recipe coming soon), salad or vegetables.
- Store refrigerated for up to three days. Can be frozen for up to a month.
- This can be eaten cold – straight from the fridge!
- If you’re reading this sentence, please have a giggle with me… cannelloni tubes should be filled BEFORE cooking! Yes… someone I know did actually try stuffing them after cooking them (empty) in boiling water! 😀
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If you’re new to cooking, or plant based cooking and need some kitchen inspiration or you’re after some ingredients, have a look here!
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Speak soon, Have a great week.
Laurena x