Dinner Made Easy: A New Recipe Worth Trying

This week I tried this vegan recipe from love and lemon and I couldn't help but share. This recipe takes one of my traditional favorites, stuffed shells, and takes a fun twist adding ingredients such as butternut squash, spinach, and even cashews to create a vegan cheese. I absolutely loved it and cannot suggest giving this vegan dish a try enough.

Lets Get Started

“Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors—it’s how you combine them that sets you apart.” – Wolfgang Puck

What You'll Need

For the Shells

• 1½ cups cubed butternut squash

• extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

• 16 jumbo shells

Cashew Cream

• 1½ cups raw cashews*, see note

• 1 cup fresh water

• 1 garlic clove

• 3½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• freshly ground pepper

Delicious Filling

• 4 cups fresh baby spinach

• 1 cup crumbled firm tofu

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

• pinch of red pepper flakes

• 1 cup cashew cream, from the recipe above

• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Let's Get Cooking

• Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the butternut squash with a drizzle of olive oil and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Roast until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

• Make the cashew cream: Blend together the drained raw cashews, freshwater, garlic, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.

• Make the filling: In a medium skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add the spinach in increments, along with a pinch of salt, and sauté until all the spinach is incorporated and wilted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Squeeze out any excess liquid and chop. In a medium bowl, combine the spinach with the crumbled tofu, oregano, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, at least 1/4 teaspoon salt, freshly ground black pepper, and 1 cup of cashew cream. Season to taste, adding more salt and pepper as desired.

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the shells and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain.

• Assemble the shells. Spread ¼ cup of the reserved cashew cream on the bottom of an 11x7-inch baking dish. Fill each cooked shell with some of the filling and a few cubes of butternut squash, and place them into the baking dish. Drizzle a little olive oil over the shells, cover with foil, and bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through. Remove from the oven and serve with the remaining cashew cream.

Get Inspired

Love and Lemons constantly gives me the best new recipes to try. Please visit their website for more delicious inspiration!