Baked Stuff Shells
Author: Adapted from Lidia's Italy in America
Ingredients
- 4 - 5 cups of tomato sauce (preferably homemade), warm
- 1 lb. large shells
- 1 lb. fresh ricotta
- 10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- dash of nutmeg
- 1 lb. low-moisture mozzarella (12 oz. cut into ¼" cubes, 4 oz shredded)
- 2 c. grated Grana Padano (or Parmigiano Reggiano)
- 3 T. chopped Italian parsley
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Put the shells in salted, boiling water and cook ⅔ of the recommended cooking time. Drain and put on sheet trays making sure they don't stick together.
- In a bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, nutmeg, cubed mozzarella, 1 c. of the grated cheese, parsley and beaten egg.
- Mix the shredded mozzarella and remaining grated Grana Padano together and set aside.
- Spread 2 c. of the tomato sauce in a 9 x 13 or 10 x 15 ceramic baking dish. (fyi-they're a tight fit in the smaller size dish but still works great)
- Stuff each shell with 1 T. of the ricotta filling and arrange in the baking dish.
- Top with 2 more cups of the sauce and sprinkle the reserved mozzarella/Grana Padano cheese mixture.
- Add remaining sauce over the top if desired.
- Tent the baking dish with foil and bake about 25 minutes until bubbly.
- Remove foil and bake until golden and slightly crusty, about 5-10 minutes more.
Recipe by Ortensia Blu at https://ortensiablutraveladventures.com/baked-stuffed-shells-pasta-rigo/