Cashew Ricotta and Spinach Shells

Happy seventh day of goodness! Today's recipe is a vegan take on ricotta stuffed pasta shells, which is slightly more laborious work but absolutely worth the end result... although not very photogenic but trust that they taste a lot better than they look!!! These bad boys are stuffed with cheesy cashew "ricotta" and spinach and baked in marina sauce, which is pretty much the ideal comfort food when you're craving a filling Italian meal. We highly recommend using a food processor or a vitamix for this one to achieve the perfect ricotta texture, so if you have one of those miracle workers then you're in for a treat!

Ingredients:

2 cups cashews, soaked at least 6 hours

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp salt

2 cups fresh spinach, wilted

1-2 tbsp minced garlic (to taste)

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp thyme

1 pack jumbo pasta shells

1 jar of marina sauce

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook your pasta shells according to the direction on the box and rinse them well with cold water once they are cooked.

In a high power blender or food processor, blend the cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, garlic, basil, and thyme. You want it to have a slightly chunky texture like ricotta would but without any actual cashew chunks.

In a sauce pan, add your spinach with a splash of water and cook on medium heat until they have wilted down and are a dark green colour. Mix the spinach into the cashew mixture.

Line the bottom of a large baking pan or oven-safe dish with a thin layer of marina sauce.

Fill each shell carefully with a heaping spoonful of the cashew spinach filling. Place them in the baking dish until it is full and then cover with as much marina sauce as desired.

Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Serve with fresh ground pepper and dig in!

PS. This didn't turn out to be the most photogenic meal in the world but it tastes fantastic so don't let these photos deter you from enjoying what is actually a very delicious meal that will make your friends think you are a talented chef!