Vegan tortellini casserole with mushrooms and baby spinach

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 500 g cauliflower, e.g. organic cauliflower, frozen, approx. 750 g
• 200 ml oat cream (oat cream cuisine)
• 1 tbsp vegetable stock powder
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 1 pinch(s) nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 tsp, levelled pepper, white
• 50 g yeast flakes, amount according to taste
• 1 dash of olive oil, optional
• 600 ml cooking water
• 500 g tortellini with vegetable filling, approx. 250 g dry weight
• 100 g baby spinach, frozen
• 300 g mushrooms
• 1 onion(s)
• Herbs of Provence
• e.g. grated cheese (grated cheese alternative)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes

with a creamy cheese and cream sauce

Preheat the oven to 220°C (top/bottom heat). Cook the cauliflower in plenty of water for about 15-20 minutes. It’s better to overcook than undercook. Meanwhile, simmer the tortellini in boiling water for about 10-13 minutes, but do not let them boil briskly. Dice the onion into medium-sized cubes. Cut the mushrooms into slices about 1 cm thick, or quarter, third, or halve them depending on their size. Peel the garlic. Drain the tortellini and set aside in a large baking dish. Strain the cauliflower through a sieve, reserving 600 ml of the cooking water. Place the cauliflower in a blender and puree until very fine. Add about 100 ml of oat cream and olive oil and blend again. (It’s better to overcook than undercook, as this determines the creaminess of the sauce.) Place the vegetable stock, nutritional yeast (about 2-3 tablespoons), nutmeg, and white pepper in a blender and add the hot cooking water. Crush in the garlic clove. Blend everything on low heat for about 3-5 minutes, set aside, and let it steep. In a wok or high-sided frying pan, sauté the onions in a little olive oil until translucent. Spread the mushrooms as flat as possible in the pan, use relatively high heat, and stir gently. Mushrooms have a lot of water; if they lie on top of each other in the pan, they cook faster. Fry everything until the onions are evenly golden brown. Add the baby spinach and let it wilt. Add the Herbes de Provence and the tortellini and stir through. Transfer everything to the baking dish, pour the cauliflower sauce over it, mix well, and then spread the rest of the oat cream on top. Bake in the preheated oven on the middle rack for about 30-45 minutes. After 15-20 minutes, scatter the cheese over the mushrooms. Note: If you like, you can grate about 50-100g of vegan cheese into the casserole mixture beforehand, then sprinkle the casserole with cheese and bake at the appropriate time. Depending on the vegan cheese, the baking/melting times will vary. Tip: If it doesn’t have to be vegan, you can also use regular cheese. In this case, use a combination of Tilsiter, Emmental, and Cheddar.