Stuffed shells take a bit of work but are the ultimate great comfort food. I love that these are stuffed with a cheese mixture rather than meat mixture, but because there is meat in the tomato sauce you don’t feel like you are missing out on the beefy flavor. The roasted red peppers add a great flavor kick that makes the cheese filling taste not so boring.
TIPS: You can add 1/2 C chopped sautéed spinach to the ricotta filling to amp it up. Also you can make the tomato sauce and the cheese filling ahead of time, and refrigerate separately until its time to assemble the shells, for a big time-saving step.
Cheese Stuffed Shells in Bolognese
Ingredients
- 16 jumbo pasta shells
Tomato sauce:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 8 oz extra lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes (preferably san marzano)
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- kosher salt
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
Cheese filling:
- 1 1/3 C ricotta cheese
- 1/2 C jarred roasted red bell peppers chopped
- 1 large egg white
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 C shredded Italian cheese blend
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as label directs, to al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water , then drain and rinse shells under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat, until browned. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the tomato paste. Add in the crushed tomatoes, 1/2 cup reserved cooking water and 1/2 tsp of salt. Let simmer to thicken while you stuff the shells. (If too thick, add more reserved cooking water). Stir in fresh basil.
- Preheat the broiler. Spray a broil-proof baking dish with cooking spray, one that is big enough to hold the shells in a single layer, but not so big they are too spread out (such as 11 or 12 inch round, or 13 X 9).
- In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, roasted red peppers, egg white, 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, 1-2 Tbsp of the shredded cheese, 1/2 tsp kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper.
- Spread the tomato sauce mixture evenly in the baking dish. Begin stuffing the shells with 1 Tbsp of cheese mixture each, then place seam side up in the tomato sauce in the baking dish. Nestle the shells deep into the sauce. Top with the remaining shredded Italian cheese, and broil until hot and bubbly and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Top with remaining fresh parsley.
- Enjoy!