Pasta Shells with Raw Walnut Stuffing
5 cups pasta sauce (about 1 jar) with 1/2 cup water added
1 250 gram box jumbo pasta shells
1 1/2 cups raw walnut pieces
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 portabello mushroom, skinned,degilled, and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/3 large sweet onion, roughly chopped
1 handful flat-leaf parsley
5 fresh basil leaves
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1/8 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
1) Combine walnuts, celery, mushroom, garlic, onion, parsley, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend until smooth, scraping down sides of the food processor as needed. Set aside.
2) While making the stuffing, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta shells and cook according to the package directions. While pasta shells are cooking, heat the pasta sauce over medium heat. Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low. When the pasta shells are done, strain and rinse under lukewarm water until cool enough to handle.
3) Using a spoon, stuff each pasta shell with the stuffing. How many pasta shells you end up with depends on how full you stuff them. Place the stuffed pasta shells in a single layer into a casserole or lasagna dish. Pour the hot pasta sauce over the pasta shells. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast if using. Serve and enjoy!
Source of recipe: I invented this recipe because I wanted to use a walnut stuffing, but did not want to destroy the delicate omega-3 fatty acids of the walnuts through cooking. These tasty shells are half cooked, half raw, and all delicious!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I've made these twice already. They are amazing, simple to make and filling tastes kinda like pesto. They taste even better the next day, though they look better the first day. They are delicious with or without tomato sauce. I'll make them again, for sure.