Cannelloni

Huzzah for penicillin! My strep throat is getting better very quickly, which meant it was time to get back into the kitchen tonight. Italian food is Vegan Mom's favourite food, so tonight it was cannelloni. I used oven-ready pasta to cut down on time--definently worth it. If you have every experienced the pain and suffering of boiling, then cooling, then stuffing pasta tubes without breaking them, you know what I am talking about.

Marinara Sauce

INGREDIENTS

- 4 large cloves of garlic, lightly crushed

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 2 28oz cans chopped tomatoes

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 bunch basil leaves, roughly chopped

METHOD

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 3-4 mins, until golden. Press occasionaly with the back of a spoon to release some of that garlicky goodness into the oil.

2. Add in tomatoes (juice and all) and salt. Process briefly with an immersion hand blender. The sauce should still be a bit chunky. Add in basil and simmer while you make the ricotta filling.

Ricotta Filling

INGREDIENTS

- 1 pkg firm tofu, drained

- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast

- 1/2 tsp salt

- freshly ground white pepper

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 1/2 tbsp soy creamer

- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder

METHOD

1. Squeeze tofu by hand to drain as much of the liquid out as possible. Mush by hand until it resembles ricotta cheese. Stir in parsley, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and oil with a fork.

2. Dissolve arrowroot powder into soy creamer and mix into the tofu mixture.

Cannelloni

Makes 14 cannelloni

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Lightly oil a large casserole dish. Put down a later of sauce.

2. Fill 14 oven-ready canneloni tubes with tofu mixture. Place in the casserole dish, about 1/4" apart to allow them to expand. Cover with the remaining sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 mins. Uncover and bake for 15 mins.