This vegan comfort food dish makes the perfect meal or side
I discovered this dish at a restaurant in New York. (Yes, I love to travel.... and brag about it!) When I returned home, I knew I needed to create my own version of this unique dish. Give it a try: it’ll turn you into a world-class cook in the comfort of your own home.
INGREDIENTS
- 12 jumbo pasta shells
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cups chopped mushrooms
- 2 sweet potatoes (1 oz), peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 cup cashews, coarsely chopped
- 8 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1⁄3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
- 1⁄4 teaspoon truffle oil (optional)
- Black pepper, to taste
- 3 cups tomato sauce
- Cashew parmesan, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook the pasta shells according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil, then add the onions and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and cashews and keep cooking for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the spinach, vegetable broth, garlic, and maple syrup and keep cooking over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the liquid is fully absorbed and the sweet potato cubes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add more vegetable broth if needed. Remove from the heat.
- Add the nutritional yeast, salt, truffle oil (if using), and pepper. Stir to combine. Refrigerate the filling for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Use a quarter-cup measuring cup to fill each pasta shell with the vegetable filling.
- Spread half of the sauce over the bottom of a baking dish. Set the shells side by side on the sauce, then spoon the remaining sauce over.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle with cashew parmesan and serve.
Serves 4 | Prep time: 40 min | Cook time: 1 hour | Rest time: 20 min
Excerpted from The Buddhist Chef’s Vegan Comfort Cooking. Copyright © 2021 Jean-Philippe Cyr. Photography © 2021 Samuel Joubert and Dominique Lafond. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.