leftovers

SPINACH & ZESTY ALMOND RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

we’ve made it in one piece to our new home here in the valley. settling in one day at a time, and so grateful for this opportunity to start a new chapter. ames and joey love the “new house” as ames has dubbed it, and it seems as though they’re really enjoying living in a house and having a backyard for the first time. i can already see them being a lot more independent, which is both terrifying and such a welcome.

on to our recipe, though! i made these stuffed shells for a special christmas dinner a few months back and we all loved them. so, for our last night in our apartment i made them again. they’re simple and straight to point - cheesy, pasta-y carbs that provide all the nostalgic, cozy/home-y feelings.

it’s really a simple meal with just a few components that get assembled to put everything together. we begin by sautéing spinach in some olive oil, we throw some salt and pepper in to season it a bit. then we make our filling with almond ricotta (i call for store bought, but i also linked to a recipe in the notes if you want/prefer to make your own). we add a few pantry ingredients, some plant-based mozzarella shreds, and our lemon zest! i love how the zest completely brightens these shells and takes the flavor to a new, yet familiar place. in goes the sautéed spinach and we now have our filling! we cook the shells until al dente, and run them under cold water. then we pipe the filling into the shells, smother them in your favorite marinara sauce, and toss them in the oven for about 30 minutes until everything is nice and hot. plus, these are really good for leftovers, they actually gave us about 2 nights worth of leftovers which was amazing after the move!

i just want to note - these shells are what i call a “special meal”, for many, this recipe might not be ideal as a weekly rotation, simply because many of the ingredients i call for are on the pricey side and/or have to be purchased online. however, if you can swing those kinds of purchases, then go for it!

spinach & zesty almond ricotta stuffed shells | gf & v

| serves 4-6 |

print the recipe

notes:

  • although i call for store bought almond ricotta, it is pretty pricey (unfortunately). if you’re not wanting to spend money on it, but still want to make this recipe, i suggest using laura’s recipe for her almond ricotta.

  • similarly, the plant-based mozzarella shreds i call for are also on the pricier side. if you have a preferred brand that’s less expensive, by all means use it. you could also leave the mozzarella out altogether and just add a bit more nutritional yeast and salt to the filling.

  • the only gluten-free jumbo pasta shells that i’m aware of are made by tinkyada. however, they are not readily found at many grocery stores, so you may have to purchase them online.

ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

  • 3 ounces fresh spinach, roughly chopped

  • fine salt & freshly ground pepper

  • 1 8-ounce box tinkyada jumbo pasta shells

  • 16 ounces kite hill almond ricotta (or see notes above)

  • 1 1/2 cups parmela creamery mozzarella shreds

  • 1/4 cup chopped basil

  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

  • 2 small cloves garlic, grated over a microplane

  • zest from 1 lemon

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 24 ounces marinara sauce

  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley

method

  1. preheat oven to 350°F.

  2. in a saute pan, heat the olive over medium heat. once hot add the spinach, and season with salt and pepper. cook until spinach is bright green and wilted, about 1 minute. use tongs and remove spinach; place in a bowl and set aside.

  3. make the filling. in a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, mozzarella shreds, basil, nutritional yeast, grated garlic, lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. give it a taste and adjust any seasonings - adding more nutritional yeast, lemon zest, nutmeg, salt and/or pepper. stir in the spinach and mix until evenly distributed. set aside.

  4. cook the shells in a large pot of boiling salted water. stir occasionally, until al dente, about 12 minutes. drain the shells, and run under cold water to stop them from cooking. set aside.

  5. cover the bottom of a 13x9” baking pan with about 1 cup of sauce.

  6. spoon the filling into a piping bag, or a resealable bag with the corner snipped. pipe the filling into each shell and arrange in a single layer in your sauce covered pan. cover the tops and sides of the shells with more marinara sauce.

  7. cover the pan tightly with foil and cook for 20 minutes, remove foil, and cook for another 10 minutes.

  8. serve warm with chopped parsley.

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crusty baked vegan alfredo w/ caramelized shallots & kale

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“cheesy” butternut & spinach baked shells

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GARLICKY, HERBED CAULIFLOWER RICE W/ PEA SHOOTS /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

spring has sprung in LA! after a pretty cold and wet winter (i heard it was the chilliest one in over 100 years), we’re back in warmer temps, and sunnier days. nothing not to love. i found myself craving lighter meals that still offer a bit of warmth at the end of the day like this rice. while it’s super spring-y, it still provides you that pleasant cozy vibe for the beginnings of spring. if i remember back to living in nyc (i can’t believe it’s almost been 2 years since we moved to LA!), i can imagine the chives just starting to sprout up in our little garden in brooklyn, or the ever so tiny buds beginning to show themselves on the branches of our crab apple tree. here in southern california you can get pretty much any seasonal vegetable year round, which, while wonderful, is still confusing to me and my sense of what others are experiencing across the country.

i was at my favorite neighborhood market, cookbook, the other day. they had artichokes, cauliflower, snap peas, every kind of fresh herb, and a big bowl filled with pea shoot bouquets. it’s times like these that the excitement of picking out what’s calling to you, bring it home, and cooking up a meal on the fly. that’s what this dish was.

a meal on the fly that just happens to be something lovely enough to share here. i’m a sucker for a garlic & herb situation, and i’m always on the lookout to make cauliflower rice more palatable. so this dish combines great flavor, but also a super easy technique for making really tasty cauliflower rice. the result is a flavor you know and love mixed with a side of health - win, win!

so what’s the technique that takes a gritty, riced cauliflower to one that’s supple and actually rice-like? butter! every time i’ve made cauli rice in the past, i’ve sautéed in olive oil. and while i’m sure it might taste ok for most people, i always felt there was something missing. the (vegan) butter makes everything more luscious and full of flavor, something olive oil just can’t offer here. i also used about 2 tablespoons more of water to steam the cauliflower than i have in the past, which made a huge difference in its texture. the addition of both them here makes this cauliflower rice a bit more next-level 👌🏼

xo!

garlicky, herbed cauliflower rice w/ pea shoots | gf & v

  • i like serving this on the side of cooked fish or chicken (although it would be lovely with any animal protein), i also think adding cooked, marinated lentils or chickpeas would be a great addition for a plant-based version.

print the recipe

| serves 4-6 as a side |

  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into medium-sized florets

  • 3 tablespoons vegan butter (i use miyoko’s brand)

  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/4 cup water

  • 1/2 cup chopped herbs (i used an equal amount of chives and parsley)

  • salt & fresh pepper

  • 5-6 radishes, sliced thin on a mandolin or with a knife

  • 1-2 cup pea shoots, microgreens, chopped baby spinach, etc.

  • squeeze of lemon juice

method

  1. start by ricing your cauliflower. in a food processor fitted with a metal “s” blade, or in an upright blender, rice the cauliflower florets in batches, blitzing them just until they reach small rice-sized pieces (over-blitzing will result in cauliflower mush, so be on the lookout). set the cauli rice aside.

  2. heat a large rimmed saute pan over medium heat, once hot. add the vegan butter. once it’s melted and bubbly, add the garlic and stir, cooking the garlic until fragrant; about 1 minute. add the cauliflower rice and the water, stir, cover, and turn the heat down to medium-low. let the cauliflower rice cook 6-7 minutes, until the water has evaporated and the cauli rice is tender but not overly mushy. remove from heat and add salt and pepper, to taste.

  3. throw in the sliced radishes, pea shoots (or whatever tender green you’re using), and squeeze everything with a splash of lemon juice. toss it all together, taste and add more salt/pepper, or lemon juice if need be. serve immediately.

more spring recipes:

sweet pea oven risotto w/ garlicky pea shoots

sweet pea oven risotto w/ garlicky pea shoots

SUMAC-ROASTED VEGGIES W/ TAHINI YOGURT (+ SOME NEWS!) /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

we’re just gonna start with the news, because i’m so excited to finally share it with you! 🎉WE’RE HAVING A BABY!🎉 baby love #2 is on the way, and HE(!!!) is due late this summer!! another little guy will be making us a family of 4 (5, if you’re like us, and count your pup as a child) and while initially i was in a state of shock at the thought of another boy, i am so excited at the idea of he and amesy being best little buds. we thought for sure that it was a girl. i had it all figured out that between both of our immediate families, the siblings have been girl/boy. this will be the first on either side where there are 2 boys. so it just goes to show that genetics only go so far, i suppose.

this pregnancy has been pretty good to me so far. my first trimester was all nausea all the time, but aside from that it was quite easy. and i’m so grateful. i never shared this before, but during my first trimester with amesy i was put on bed rest for about 6 weeks. i had a subchorionic hemorrhage, which is essentially an active bleed in the gestational sac. it was quite sizable and the bedrest was to prevent the hemorrhage from rupturing. it was probably the scariest thing i have ever gone through, but thank goodness amesy made it out of that first trimester, and i went on to have a very healthy pregnancy after that. needless to say, this time around i was was convinced it would happen again (apparently it’s common to have it again if you’ve had it before), but luckily we made it through this first trimester with zero sign of any bleed.

with all the worry of the first trimester aside, my mind is feeling a bit more at peace. we’re beginning to plan some things, some for baby, but mostly for amesy. i’m trying to think of everything i can to make this as easy a transition for him. which has translated to him moving into a big boy bed, starting the beginnings of potty training, and all that fun stuff! but in all honesty, i worried about so much in my pregnancy with amesy, that this time around i’m really just trying to take it all in stride, and just grateful for every day that i get to carry and care for this babe.

so where am i going with all this? and why am i celebrating this news with roasted veg? basically because i haven’t been able to stomach roasted anything for close to 3 months, and i’m finally able to enjoy roasted veggies once again. and more than that, i paired my favorite medley of fresh veg with my ultimate go-to (pregnant or not): dairy-free tahini yogurt. it’s the kind of sauce that you want to pour over everything, sop up with any scrap of bread you can find, or just eat it with a spoon. it’s that good. and if you’re on the other side of the world where it’s still hot and you have a plethora of tomatoes and cucumbers you could make this version that i posted the other day on instagram. like i said, the possibilities are endless with this sauce.

wishing you all a beautiful week ahead!

sumac-roasted veggies w/ tahini yogurt | v & gf

you could use this sauce in so many applications, but my favorite for this time of year is to brighten up roasted winter vegetables. there’s a good bit of punch and tang in the sauce, so it’s the perfect thing enliven winter meals (especially late winter meals). i used baby potatoes, red onion, and a mix of broccoli and romanesco, but feel free to use your preferred assortment of vegetable, you really can’t go wrong.

here are my favorite brands of dairy free yogurt to use here:

print the recipe

| serves 4 |

tahini yogurt

  • 1/3 cup tahini

  • 3/4 cup plant-based unsweetened plain yogurt (preferably greek-style)

  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

  • 1 clove garlic, grated on a microplane

  • salt

  • water to thin

sumac-roasted veggies

  • 1 lb. new potatoes or fingerling potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 1 red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges

  • 3 tablespoons avocado oil, divided

  • 3 teaspoons ground sumac

  • salt & fresh ground pepper

  • 1 head broccoli or romanesco (or 1/2 broccoli, half romanesco), cut into bite size pieces

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

  • crumbled vegan feta or mozzarella, to top

method

  1. make the tahini-yogurt. in a large bowl, whisk together the tahini, yogurt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, garlic, a few pinches salt, a few grinds of pepper, and 1 tablespoon water. taste and add more lemon juice, salt, and water if needed. (if you’re looking to smear the bowl with the yogurt sauce, then i would suggest not adding as much water, you want it thick enough for it not to run down the sides of the bowl.) pour the sauce into a lidded jar or container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

  2. roast the veggies. preheat oven to 400°F, and line baking sheet with parchment paper. in a large mixing bowl, combine the potatoes and onions with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons sumac, and a fat pinches of salt. toss together until everything is even combined. spread the veggies out evenly into the baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes (the potatoes will be lightly golden). while the potatoes and onion are cooking, add the broccoli or romanesco to your mixing bowl, and add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons sumac, and another good pinch of salt. toss it all together until combined. pull the potatoes from the oven, and add the broccoli (or romanesco) to the tray. roast for another 8-10 minutes, until the broccoli (or romanesco) is tender; and the potatoes and onions are lightly browned and edges are crisp.

  3. let the veggies cool slightly while you prepare your bowl. if you’re smearing your bowl with sauce (alternatively, you could serve the roasted veggies with a side of sauce), add half the sauce to a large shallow bowl, and use a large spoon to spread the sauce into the bottom and sides of the bowl,. add the veggies to the center. top with the chopped mint, chopped parsley, and crumbled vegan cheese (if using).

similar recipes:

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warm fingerling potatoes w/ garlic turmeric sauce

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