What's For Dinner: Stuffed Shells

I happened to catch an episode of Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn (a spin-off from Everyday Food) and was instantly drawn to the following recipe for stuffed shells. Though her recipe features pancetta, I opted to make my shells vegetarian, and also decreased the portions from 8-10 to 4-6. I think this recipe may be one of my new favorites! Plus, the stuffing options are kind of endless, which means I don't have to make the exact same thing every time. I ♥ variety!

Stuffed Shells (printer-friendly version)

makes 4+ servings

1/2 box jumbo pasta shells (about 14-16)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 cup baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

coarse salt

freshly ground pepper

1/2 container part-skim ricotta cheese (15 oz)

1 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces

2 cups pasta sauce

finely grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Season generously with salt.

3. Cook the jumbo pasta shells for ten minutes.

4. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Place the shells in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Set aside.

5. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the olive oil.

6. Saute the red onion until softened and lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes. Add in the garlic and continue to saute 1 minute more.

7. Stir in the chopped spinach and saute until just wilted.

8. Add in the red wine vinegar and stir. Season with salt and pepper.

9. Remove the skillet from the heat and let cool.

10. Stir in the ricotta and mozzarella cheese.

11. Pour enough pasta sauce to cover the bottom into a 2-quart dish to cover the bottom.

12. Place the shells in the pasta sauce.

13. Generously stuff each shell with about 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture.

14. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

15. Remove the baking dish from the oven and uncover. Increase the oven heat to 425 degrees. Continue baking for another 15 minutes, or until the shells are lightly browned and the cheese is bubbly.

16. Serve the shells with additional heated pasta sauce. Garnish with finely grated Parmesan cheese.

 (adapted from this Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn recipe)