Stuffed Shells Filled With Spinach And Ricotta Recipes

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Fill a bowl with ice water. Blanch the spinach for no more than 20 seconds, just until wilted, and transfer to the ice water, then drain. Squeeze out excess water. Bring the water in the pot back to a boil and add the pasta shells. Cook al dente, about 10 minutes, and drain and toss with the olive oil. Set aside.
• Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop in the garlic. When the garlic is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the spinach and pulse to chop finely. Add the ricotta and the egg and process until well blended. Add 1/3 cup of the Parmesan, the chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse until well blended.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a large baking dish or two 2-quart dishes. The shells should fit into the dish in one layer. Fill each shell with a scant tablespoon of the filling. Arrange in a single layer in the baking dish. Top with the tomato sauce and cover the dish with foil.
• Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the heat, sprinkle on the remaining Parmesan, and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a very large saucepan, gently fry the garlic and onion in the oil for about 5-10 minutes until translucent. Add the tomato purée and refill the cans with water about three-quarters full, giving them a shake to mop up any tomato. This will give you about 4 1/2 cups water. Add it to the pan. Bring the sauce to the boil and then partially cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.
• Soak the fresh spinach in the sink to get rid of any mud, drain, and then cook in just the water that's still clinging to the leaves until it has wilted down and cooked through, then drain well and chop roughly (you can just go at it with scissors while it's sitting in the colander). If you're using frozen chopped spinach, make sure - once it's thawed - that you've pressed out every last bit or water; you can.
• Empty the ricotta into a bowl, add the eggs and then grate in about 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) of the Parmesan. Add the spinach when it is cool, squeezing out (again) any excess water with your hands, then stir everything together and season it well with the nutmeg and salt and pepper.
• Cook the pasta shells in a large pan of water, for about 5 minutes once they have come back to the boil, then drain and leave them to get cool enough for you to stuff them without burning your fingers. Tip the shells into a dish, of approximately 15 x 13 inches, so that they lie in a single layer, then fill each shell with a heaped teaspoon of the spinach and ricotta filling. Ladle the tomato sauce over the pasta, and grate over the remaining Parmesan.
• Bake for about 20 - 30 minutes, by which time the pasta will be tender and the light tomato sauce hot and bubbling. Remove from the oven and let stand for a while to cool down slightly before serving.

Steps:

• Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet with the oil and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook until al dente according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and set aside for making the Vodka Sauce. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well. Arrange the pasta in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
• In a food processor, add the mushrooms and shallot and pulse until chopped into about 1/8-inch pieces. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the spinach to the skillet and cover to allow the spinach to wilt, about 2 minutes more. Stir in the parsley and transfer to a large bowl.
• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, pine nuts, basil chiffonade, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Combine the cheese mixture with the mushroom mixture. Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of the filling.
• In the skillet where the mushrooms were cooked, add about 1 cup Vodka Sauce and spread it in an even layer. Arrange the stuffed shells in a circular pattern. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups sauce, 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzarella in between and on top of the shells (leaving the tops of the shells mostly exposed). Cover and cook over medium heat until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 10 minutes.
• Garnish with more Parmesan and basil leaves, and serve.
• In a large skillet over low heat, add the butter, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the tomatoes, cream, vodka, tomato paste, 1/2 cup pasta cooking water and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, adding more reserved pasta water as needed.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the jumbo shells and cook according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain the jumbo shells through a colander.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the garlic and stir until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted down, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and let the spinach cool to room temperature, then roughly chop on a cutting board.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta and egg. Add the chopped spinach, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, the black pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir to combine.
• Fill the jumbo shells with the ricotta mixture.
• Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with olive oil. Spread 2 cups of marinara on the bottom of the pan.
• Arrange the stuffed shells in a single layer over the marinara sauce. Spread the remaining 1 cup of marinara over the shells and top with the mozzarella.
• Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover the pan and continue baking until the cheese has melted and is golden brown, about 15 minutes.
• Garnish with the basil and serve immediately.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• In a saute pan over medium-high heat, fry bacon till crisp. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels.
• Melt butter in the pan with the bacon grease. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and saute' until just soft.
• Add spinach and green onions. Saute for 3-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and set spinach mixture into a mesh strainer to drain.
• In large bowl, combine, ricotta, mozarella, egg, parsley, tarragon. Season with more salt/pepper to taste. Add spinach mixture to the ricotta mixture and mix well.
• Spread tomato sauce into the bottom of a baking dish. Spoon spinach/cheese mixture into the cooked shells. Place filled shells into the baking dish and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. NOTE: If you have leftover filling, place it in a ramekin or small baking dish and bake along side of the shells. It's delicious!