Description
Delicious stuffed jumbo shells filled with ricotta, mushrooms, and fresh herbs, topped with marinara sauce.
Ingredients
Scale
- 20 jumbo shells (6–7 ounces)
- 1–2 tablespoons olive oil, plus oil for brushing
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 4–6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon oregano, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
- 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped into a small dice
- 2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes (in oil), finely chopped (optional)
- 3–4 ounces fresh spinach (3 cups), chopped or 1 ½ cups frozen
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups ricotta cheese (full-fat)
- ⅔ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, more for the top if desired
- ⅓ cup pecorino cheese
- 1 egg (optional)
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- generous pinch nutmeg
- 24-ounce jar of marinara sauce
- Garnish: fresh Italian parsley and pecorino
Instructions
- Cook pasta shells in salted boiling water, according to package directions, to al dente. Drain.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, stir for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add chili flakes, oregano, and fennel seeds, sauté one minute. Add chopped mushrooms and sauté until they release their liquid, lower the heat if necessary, and season with salt and pepper. Add the sundried tomatoes and spinach, wilt, and cook off any liquid. Cool the filling (I like to put it in the freezer for 10 minutes).
- In a medium bowl, whisk the optional egg. Add ricotta cheese, mozzarella, pecorino cheese, lemon zest, nutmeg, and fresh basil, and mix. Fold in cooled mushroom filling.
- In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish (12-13-inch round baker), add the marinara sauce. Stuff 16 shells with 2-3 tablespoons of filling and arrange over the sauce. You’ll have a few extras if any break. Spray or brush any bare pasta with olive oil and a few twists of black pepper.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes until bubbling. Uncover, sprinkle with more pecorino, mozzarella (if you want), and bake uncovered for five more minutes.
Notes
- Some shells may fall apart, so prepare extra.
- For a meat filling, refer to additional notes.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 shells
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 25g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 20g
- Cholesterol: 70mg