Vegan Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells

| Curated Just for You | Test Kitchen Approved |

Serves: 4 | Prep. Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

1½ cups cubed butternut squash

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

16 jumbo shells

Cashew Cream:

1½ cups raw cashews*

1 cup fresh water

1 garlic clove

3½ tbsp fresh lemon juice

½ tsp sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Filling:

4 cups fresh baby spinach

1 cup crumbled firm tofu

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp lemon zest

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 cup cashew cream (from the recipe above)

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

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, fresh water, garlic, lemon juice, ½ tsp 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 the spinach with the crumbled tofu, oregano, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, at least ¼ tsp 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 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.

*Depending on your blender, you may want to soak the cashews in water for a few hours (or overnight) in order for them to become creamy when pureed. Drain and rinse when ready to use. If using a Vitamix blender or similar, soaking is not necessary.

Recipe adapted from Love & Lemons