Butternut, Flageolet & Spinach Stuffed Pasta with Super Green Sauce

This recipe was created for Sacla using their new SUPER GREENS SAUCE.

*I used a 25cm x 35cm oven roasting dish for this recipe and the quantity of ingredients shown are to fit this.  Please adjust ingredients to suit your roasting tray size.

Giant pasta shapes stuffed with roasted butternut squash, creamy flageolet beans, spinach, chopped vegan sausage and a few spoonfuls of Saclas new delicious Super Greens Sauce, each laid on a bed of thick marinara sauce – baked in the oven until all the flavours infuse and come together to create this really amazing meal.

This isn’t a dish you throw together mid-week when you’re rushing from one place to another.  It’s a recipe which requires a little more preparation and time devoted to it.  It could, however, be prepared the day before and kept in the fridge ready for baking in the oven, so this makes it an ideal Monday night, meat-free meal option which you can prepare on your more relaxed Sunday.

Aesthetically pleasing, it’s a wonderful oven-to-table, one-tray recipe and would be an ideal option for when you’re cooking for guests, especially if prepared the day before, leaving you more time to chat 🙂

Giant pasta shells are always a bit of a novelty for children so they can get involved with the preparation by helping to stuff them and then having a competition as to who can fit a whole one into their mouth at the dinner table!  That happens in our house and it makes for a good reason to keep everybody sat at the table without disappearing (as children often do!).

There are many combinations of ingredients you can use to stuff pasta shells but they often include meat and cheese.  I have used roasted butternut squash with beans as they give a beautiful creamy texture as well as being filling and containing a good amount of protein.  It’s always a great idea to add greens and I have squeezed in lots of spinach with the mix of Saclas Super Green Sauce – a mix of broccoli and cavolo nero – so you can be sure you’re getting a good portion of your greens for the day in one meal!

Sat on a bed of marinara sauce – a mix of tomato passata, herbs, onions and lots of garlic which all roasts in the oven creating a thick, deep tasting sauce to mop up with the stuffed pasta shapes.

It’s a substantial meal to eat as it is but for an extra filling meal and more protein, I have added some vegan sausages, pre-cooked and chopped into small pieces, added to the stuffing mix, they give an even deeper depth of flavour and texture to the dish.  Feel free to omit the sausages if you prefer.

Here’s what you will need;

• nutritional yeast flakes
• dried mixed oregano herbs
• tomato passata
• pre-roasted butternut squash
• Sacla Super Greens Sauce
• onions
• garlic
• giant pasta shapes suitable for stuffing
• flageolet beans
• fresh spinach

And some vegan or vegetarian sausages if you would like to include these.

If you haven’t already pre-roasted the butternut squash, please do this now.  Simply cut the butternut squash into small cubes and roast in the oven for about 30+ mins until soft.  There is no need to add any oil to the squash.

Whilst the butternut squash is in the oven, cook the sausages as per packet instructions, then remove from the oven and chop into small pieces ready for adding to the stuffing.

Once the butternut squash has been roasted, remove from the oven and leave to one side while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

For the pasta, place a large pan of water to boil, add a good pinch of salt, then add the pasta shapes and allow to cook until al dente.  To cook al dente, reduce the packet cooking time by 2 minutes. This will ensure the pasta does not over-cook and become too soft as it will tear when you are trying to stuff them.  Once cooked al dente, drain and run cold water over them whilst in a sieve, to cool them down and stop them cooking further. Set to one side.

Cook the chopped onions by adding them to a frying pan with a splash of water and a lid secured.  You do not need to add oil to the onions to cook them.  Cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent.  After 10 minutes, remove the lid and allow any excess liquid to evaporate before turning off the heat.

Empty the tomato passata into your oven roasting dish, then add the cooked onions, chopped garlic and herbs and stir everything together.  Spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the dish.

Next, make the stuffing mix by placing the pre-roasted, cubed butternut squash, rinsed flageolet beans, spinach, nutritional yeast flakes, chopped sausage and Super Greens Sauce, into a large bowl, stir everything together until combined.

Now, stuff each pasta shape by taking one piece of pasta and using a small spoon to stuff the filling mixture inside.  Place it on top of the marinara sauce and continue with all of the pasta and stuffing until the whole dish is filled.

Place the dish in the oven, covered with foil and bake at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes.  Please note, if you are preparing the dish a day ahead, please adjust the baking time accordingly by around another 10 minutes as the dish will be cold and need extra time to heat up and cooked from fridge temperature.

After 30 minutes, remove the foil and allow to cook for a further 5-10 mins to form a crispy topping.

Remove the dish from the oven and grate on some vegan or vegetarian cheese (optional) and add a few spoonfuls of the Super Green Sauce on top.

Serve alone or with a side of fresh spinach and vine tomatoes and season to taste, if needed.