Soulfully Spiced is a new biweekly recipe column in which Supriya Raman, an LA-based vegan cook and blogger, uses her culinary expertise, cultural heritage, and cooking know-how to teach you how to make vegan food that is soulful, nourishing, and exceptionally tasty. In today’s column, she reminisces about one of her mom’s recipes, veganizing it for everyone to enjoy! Her spiced vegan ricotta stuffed squash is super tender and packed with flavor and protein, making it a well-rounded meal that’s fun to make and share.
Today, I am having a moment with these beautiful delicata squash. Easily my favorite kind of squash.
My mom used to make this stuffing made from paneer, which is a type of Indian fresh cheese. The cheese was packed with flavors from ginger, garlic, mint, and holy basil also known as tulsi along with tomatoes & chillies. She’d use this stuffing in so many ways from stuffing bread to veggies, even chillies.
I made this stuffing vegan by using tofu instead. With just a few little tricks, the texture of tofu when scrambled and then baked becomes super close to a ‘ricotta’ or paneer.
This spiced tofu ‘paneer’ is packed with flavors and stuffed inside these delicata squash and baked until supremely tender! My spiced ricotta vegan stuffed squash makes a meal that’s so darn tasty and comforting while also being healthy, protein-packed, and vegan.
I hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients
- 2 delicata squash - halved
- 2-4 tbsp oil
- 2 tsp salt
Filling:
- 1 block extra firm tofu - I’ve used Nasoya high protein tofu
- 2 tbsp oat milk - or any plant milk
- ½ cup packed fresh basil*
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- ½ onion - finely chopped
- ¼ cup pickled jalapenos - finely chopped
- 1 ″ piece ginger - minced
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes packed in oil - chopped
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
- Drain and remove tofu from the packaging. Rinse and place the block of extra firm tofu between towels with a weight on top. Press tofu for about 10 minutes. Typically we’d press it much longer when we want crispy tofu, but today for a creamy ricotta-like texture, leaving a bit of moisture in the tofu helps.
- Place the tofu in a large bowl and crumble using your hands. Crumble into as fine a texture as you can get. Add oat milk and continue mixing them to create a soft and supple mixture. To this add ginger, garlic, jalapenos, onions, basil, mint, and sun-dried tomatoes. Continue mixing to form a creamy & fluffy filling.
- Halve both the delicata squash, and scoop all the seeds & insides. The skin is completely edible and turns tender when cooked, so we can leave that on! Brush oil all over them inside and out. Place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle salt evenly all over.
- Place a good amount of filling in each of the squash halves; ideally about a cup of mixture. Transfer to the oven for baking. Bake for 35-45 minutes. Check at the 35 min mark for doneness of squash.
- Depending on your oven, it may need an additional 10 more minutes of cooking. Once it’s done, check by gently inserting a fork into the squash, and it should be soft and fully cooked. Allow to cool for a few minutes and enjoy as is, or with a salad.
Notes
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Recipe, text, and photography by Supriya Raman.
If you loved this spiced vegan ricotta stuffed squash, you might also like…
Vegan Roasted Butternut Squash & Sage Ricotta Stuffed Shells
https://bestofvegan.com/vegan-cheesy-baked-butternut-squash/
