We will start with the sauce, this was the longest and most time consuming to make. Once again, I adapted these recipes from the book "Blissful Bites" by, you guessed it, Christy Morgan!
Mama Mia Magnifico Sauce
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 medium rutabaga, quartered
3 medium carrots, cut into large chunks
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp oil
3 celery stalks, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 small beet, grated
sea salt, to taste
Place squash, rutabaga, and carrots in a pressure cooker (I don't have a pressure cooker, so I diced the pieces and put them in my stockpot covered with water and let boil until they were soft). If you have a pressure cooker, add 1/2 tsp sea salt, lock the lid in place and bring up to pressure. Cook on full pressure for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet over medium and saute celery, onion, spices, and a pinch of sea salt for a few minutes. Stir in the vinegars, tamari, and maple syrup; then set aside.
When the root vegetables are done, turn off the stove and let pressure come down naturally. Puree the cooled vegetables in a food processor or blender.
Fold in the sauteed celery, onion, and grated beet. Add as much beet as you want to make the sauce a deep red. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Warm on the oven and serve hot over the filled pasta shells.
You start with this...
And you get this! Can you believe there is not a SINGLE tomato in this sauce?
Pureeing the vegetables is how lost my spatula! My food processor ate it! I had to toss the second half of my sauce.
Next up was the make my pasta shell filling...
Tofu Ricotta Cheeze
1 pkg (14 oz) extra firm tofu
1/3 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup nutritional yeast (that flaky stuff from my previous post)
2 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp maple syrup
1 cup fresh arugula or spinach (I used baby spinach)
sea salt, to taste
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until well combined and no lumps remain.
Veggie Stuffed Pasta Shells
16 oz. jumbo pasta shells
1 tsp oil (I used olive oil)
1 cup zucchini, diced small
1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
Tofu Ricotta Cheeze (from above)
Mama Mia Magnifico Sauce (from above)
Cook pasta according to directions. Heat oil in skillet and saute zucchini and mushrooms until barely limp. Turn off heat and mix with the Tofu Ricotta Cheeze. Stuff the filling into the pasta shells and cover with the Mama Mia Magnifico Sauce.
All in all...I really LOVE this dish...probably my favorite healthy dish that we have made so far. I would save myself a lot of hassle the next time I make it and buy already cubed pieces of butternut squash for the sauce...that thing was a pain in the butt to cut and peel! I would also NOT make this on a weeknight again! Next time I make this will be on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon when I am not so pressed for time. This dish takes a lot of prep, a lot of washing dishes in between, and a lot of patience. White wine goes great with the stuffed pasta shells, I drank a chardonnay. I seriously recommend you take the time to try this recipe; my words of wisdom for you...when you are done, sit back with another glass of wine and let your husband or significant other tackle the clean up!
The final touch! So yummy!
Somewhere in the middle of all this mess, I also decided that I would be super mom and bake a batch of cookies with a new recipe I have been wanting to try! The cookies were a good bribe to get the lil ones to eat their dinner!
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