This casserole of filled pasta shells is a delicious & summery comfort dish. Packed with flavour and texture. The congichiglioni rigati (large ribbed pasta shells) are filled with a mixture of delicious slow-fried onions, making them deliciously sweet and creamy.
I flavoured the tofu ‘mince’ with baharat. A slightly spicy and very aromatic Middle Eastern spice mixture, which gives the tofu a nice savoury flavour. The pine nuts add some additional texture to it.
I made the sauce from spring carrots, but of course winter carrots will do just fine too. Here too, I added some spice in the form of harissa. So all in all, these stuffed pasta shells are packed with flavour.
When the casserole comes out of the oven, it is topped with crunchy, raw vegetables like garden peas, spring onion and very small broccoli florets. Flavoured with lemon, mint and dill, this topping provides a fresh and super crunchy counterpoint. This is how you serve a casserole full of surprises!
You can also serve the shells with tofu filling as appetisers. Then serve the sauce with it as a dip.
Stuffed pasta shells with tofu and a crunchy vegetable topping
Equipment
- Hand blender
- large oven dish approx. 30 x 40 cm
Ingredients
voor de wortel saus
- 3 el olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery wedges
- 500 g carrots in pieces of 1 cm
- 2 cloves garlic fijngesneden
- 1 el tomato paste
- 500 ml vegetable stock
- 1 tl harissa or more to taste
- 2 el red wine vinegar
voor de pasta
- 375 g plain tofu
- 8 el olive oil
- 4 onions diced
- 2 el baharat
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 200 g spinach
- 4 el pine nuts roasted
- 100 g vegan feta
- 2 el red wine vinegar
- 200 g large pasta shells conchiglioni rigati
voor de crunchy groente topping
- 2 spring onions thinly sliced
- 100 g broccoli in very small florets
- 100 g fresh peas or young field peas from the freezer, thawed
- 1 organic lemon, the zest and 2 tbsp juice
- 3 sprigs mint leaves in very thin strips
- 3 sprigs dill leaves plucked
Instructions
Preparation
- For the pasta filling, place the tofu in a colander, put something heavy on top so the liquid is pushed out. Leave to stand for 15 min. Pat dry well and crumble the tofu.375 g plain tofu
For the carrot sauce
- Meanwhile, for the carrot sauce, heat the olive oil in a thick-bottomed pan and fry the onion and celery for 2 min. Add the carrots and fry 5 min on high heat until light golden brown. Add the garlic and tomato puree and fry 1 min. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Cook for 10-15 min over medium-high heat until the carrots are tender.3 el olive oil, 1 onion, 2 stalks celery, 500 g carrots, 2 cloves garlic, 1 el tomato paste, 500 ml vegetable stock
- Remove the pan from the heat and puree with a hand blender until smooth. Add extra water if the sauce is too thick. Season to taste with the harissa, red wine vinegar and salt. Pour into the baking dish.1 tl harissa, 2 el red wine vinegar
For the pasta filling
- Meanwhile, for the pasta filling, heat 4 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and caramelise the onions over medium-high heat with a pinch of salt for about 15-20 min. Stir frequently. Spoon from the pan into a bowl.8 el olive oil, 4 onions
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in the frying pan and add the tofu crumbs, baharat and garlic. Stir-fry for 5 min on high heat until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper and spoon from the pan into the onions.2 el baharat, 2 cloves garlic, 375 g plain tofu
- Heat the last 2 tbsp olive oil in the frying pan add the spinach and let it shrink while stirring for 3 min. Drain off any liquid and add to the onion-tofu mixture with the pine nuts and vegan feta. Stir well and season with the red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.200 g spinach, 4 el pine nuts, 100 g vegan feta, 2 el red wine vinegar
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta shells 2 min shorter than the instructions on the packet. Drain and leave to cool slightly.200 g large pasta shells
Put together & serve
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Fill the pasta shells with the tofu onion filling and place in the sauce in the baking dish, open side up, and bake in the oven for 20-25 min or until the sauce starts to bubble.
- Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the crunchy vegetable topping in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.2 spring onions, 100 g broccoli, 100 g fresh peas, 1 organic lemon, the zest and 2 tbsp juice, 3 sprigs mint, 3 sprigs dill
- Take the dish out of the oven and garnish with the topping. Serve immediately.
