Ricotta + Spinach Stuffed Shells

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 /2 cup of olive oil

• 8 garlic cloves; thinly sliced

• 6 basil leaves

• 1 yellow onion; finely diced

• 1 tsp of dried oregano

• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes

• 1 tsp of kosher salt

• Two 28 oz. cans of whole peeled tomatoes

Stuffing Ingredients:

• 23 oz. (one and a half 15 oz. containers) whole milk ricotta

• 10 oz. of frozen spinach; defrosted, drained well and chopped

• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

• 2 cups of shredded, low moisture mozzarella

• 1 tsp of kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp of freshly ground pepper

Other Ingredients:

• 1 lb of large shells; cooked al dente and drained (go about 3 -4 minutes undercooked as it will continue cooking in the oven and there is nothing worse than soggy shells)

• 2 cups of shredded mozzarella (for topping)

• 1 cup of shredded parmesan (for topping)

Let’s start with the sauce - you could even do this a day in advance if you really felt inspired, but this whole dish can be done in one day and have your guests thinking you have been working on this for weeks!

In a Dutch oven or large pot heat up your oil on medium heat. When it is hot, add in your sliced garlic and basil leaves. Fry until your garlic JUST starts to get golden on the edges and then using a slotted spoon, remove all of the garlic and basil from the oil. You are making a flavored oil so if you burn the garlic, the oil will get super bitter and you will need to start over (so don’t look away). Toss your garlic and basil.

Reduce the heat slightly and add in your diced onions. Let those cook for a few minutes or until glossy.

Add in your dried oregano, chili flakes and salt and then pour in your two cans of whole tomatoes and stir everything together. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for about an hour, stirring often and breaking up the whole tomatoes with the back of your spoon.

After about an hour, turn the off and let come to room temperature. Using an immersion blender (or regular blender) blend the sauce so it is nice and smooth (return the sauce to the pot if you are using a normal blender). Set aside for later

Cook your pasta al dente. Drain, drizzle with olive oil and set aside.

While your pasta is cooking, prepare your filling by mixing everything (ricotta, spinach, parm, mozzarella, salt and pepper) together in a big bowl so you have a paste-like texture. Make sure you like the way it tastes so adjust the seasoning to your preference. Cover and keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

Preheat your oven to 350F and pull out a large (9 x 13) baking / casserole dish.

Add the filling mixture to a large plastic baggie and cut the tip off one corner. (If you don’t feel like piping the mixture into the shells, you can totally just spoon it in).

Using a ladle, add a layer of your sauce to the bottom of your baking dish.

Pipe the filling into each large shell and arrange it in the baking dish so they are sitting upright. I really just lined the shells up and then went back and squeeze in more wherever I could.

Once your shells have been filled and place in the dish, cover fully with more sauce.

Top with shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese and bake uncovered for about 45 minutes - 1 hour. Nothing really needs to cook, it all just needs to be heated through so you can adjust your cook time as needed.

Bake until the top layer of cheese is fully melted and starting to get crispy.

Remove from the oven, let set for a few minutes and serve warm.