Food Network Friday Presents Aubergine and Sausage Stuffed Shells

Vegan Sausage and Aubergine Stuffed Shells

• Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
  • 175 g (6 ¼ oz) finely chopped veg sausages
  • 115 g (1 cup) chopped onions
  • 1 aubergine/eggplant, roasted and chopped.
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup okara (crumbled pressed firm tofu would work too)
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • 255 g (9 oz) spinach leaves, blanced, drained, and chopped
  • 3 tablespoon parmezano (or other cheese sub if you can't source this)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 185 g (6.5 oz) pasta shells
  • 6 fresh tomatoes (with juices), peeled and seeded
  • 80 ml (⅓ cup) soy (or other non-dairy) cream
  • 2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
  • 70 g (2.5 oz) grated vegan cheese

• Directions/Method
  1. Heat 2 teaspoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the sausages for a few minutes and then tip in half of the onions and all of the aubergine/eggplant. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of the salt over the contents of the pan and a pinch of the red pepper, stirring it all together and cooking for a further 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and add half of the garlic. Cook for just a minute so the garlic doesn't burn, then transfer the mix to a large bowl to cool.
  2. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 175 c (350 f) begin preparing the sauce by heating the remaining teaspoon of oil in a saucepan to medium high, and sauté the other half of the onion for 3-4 minutes, or until translucent. Chuck in the last bit of garlic and cook another minute before adding the tomatoes, ¼ teaspoon salt, and the remaining red pepper flakes. Stir together and cook for 5 minutes. Mix the cream through the sauce and leave to simmer over medium heat for around 20 minutes, or until it reduces by a third and thickens a little.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the pasta shells until al dente, generally around 10 minutes, but check the package instructions to get a more accurate idea. Lightly oil a medium casserole dish.
  4. Stir the okara, nutritional yeast, parmezano, lemon juice, and spinach into the sausage and aubergine jumble. Pack the pasta shells with as much as you can get in (you may still have a tiny bit of mix left, which serves as an appetiser since you still have nearly an hour to wait until dinner). Place the prepared shells in the casserole dish.
  5. Stir the basil through the tomato sauce and pour it evenly over it over the shells. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and cover the whole lot with foil. Pop in the oven for 35-40 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 15 minutes to crisp the top a bit.
  6. Remove from the oven and leave to sit for a few minutes, but I'm only saying that because other recipes do. Who really waits that long for their dinner? Christ, get real.