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The idea of stuffing pasta shells occurred to me when I found pasta shells in Venice in February. It took me 6 months to use them! It wasn’t until I got the idea of pumpkin ragu. Could there be anything better for an indulgent dinner than pumpkin ragu with stuffed pasta shells? I don’t think so.
When I wandered through Venice with my boyfriend in February I already knew I was taking home a special souvenir – food. Always food. We walked into a small store that sold different types of homemade pasta, special Italian sauces, etc. I found a big pack of pasta shells and immediately knew they were coming with me. Afterwards, I kept them in a closet for a “special occasion”. Did that happen to you any time before?
Why is pumpkin ragu with stuffed pasta shells one of my favourite ideas?
Summer happened and autumn came super fast. With it came pumpkins! I soon realised this is my special occasion: pumpkins and pasta shells. Plus my camera, of course.
Creating pumpkin ragu with stuffed pasta shells from scratch was a blast. I knew I wanted to create something delicious, something indulgent, something surprising. I believe I made it.
Why is this recipe special?
It is something you don’t expect. Here’s why:
- It is a bit sour. The pasta shells are stuffed with homemade “cottage cheese” – tofu, nooch, lemon and spices.
- It has a Mediterranean feel to it – rosemary!
- The sweetness might be surprising to some – pumpkins and sautéed onions do the magic.
- After baking it, it gets a bit of crunch from baked pasta.
I meeeaaaannnn! You need to try it, no excuse.
If you’re into pumpkins, check out some of my other recipes:

Pumpkin Ragu with Stuffed Pasta Shells
Ingredients
Pumpkin ragu
- 3 onions big
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1500 g pumpkin hokkaido or butternut
- 3 tsp salt
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- ⅓ tsp black pepper
- ⅓ tsp cumin
- 3 tsp rosemary
- 150 ml oat cream
Stuffed Pasta Shells
- 250 g pasta shells
- 350 g tofu natural
- 1 lemon juice
- 3 tbsp oat cream
- 3 pinches salt
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1½ tsp rosemary cut or chopped
Instructions
- Prepare everything for the execution of this task: chop onions; cut pumpkin into dices, 2x2 cm; cut tofu in small dices. Warm-up water for pasta.
- In a large pot, warm-up olive oil. Sautée onions until they are soft. Halfway through you may add a bit of water and salt so it softens faster.
- Once onions are ready, add pumpkin and sautée for a few minutes. Then add water, cover with a lid, and let it cook for about 20 minutes.
- In the meantime prepare the stuffing for pasta: blend tofu with all other ingredients, except for rosemary, in a blender until smooth. Add rosemary and stir it in by hand. Cook pasta, strain it and let it cool down a little.
- Check your ragu - when the pumpkin is soft, add the spices and stir. Then add cooking cream, stir it and move ragu from a pot to a large baking tray. You can also use two smaller baking trays.
- Using a teaspoon, stuff pasta shells with tofu "cottage cheese". Place them on top of ragu in the baking tray until you cover the whole surface in the baking tray.
- Bake the dish at 180°C for 25 minutes. Then turn on ventilation in the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Done!
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