"not so Italian" Butternut Stuffed Shells

So stuffed shells don't always have to be all cheese, spinach, tomatoes, beef or sausage. This gives a nice lighter version, with none of the traditional parmesan or mozarella cheeses. It is a rich - but lighter at the same time dish. This is great served as a nice light "NO meat" dinner with a fresh arugula salad or fresh fall salad with diced apples and pears and a tangy honey vinaigrette would be amazing with this dish. Originally, I had this dish at a small dinner party quite a few years ago. The host hated tomatoes and most traditional Italian dishes, so this was her version of stuffed shells. Well I loved it. She served it with sauteed spinach and a fresh simple tomato salad on the side. I was lucky enough to get the recipe and with a few changes over the years for my taste, this has become one of my favorites.

• Ready In: 46 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 12  ounces jumbo pasta shells (1 box)
• 18  ounces  butternut squash (2 boxes frozen, Birds Eye has 9 oz boxes, you need 3 cups) or 18  ounces  winter squash (2 boxes frozen, Birds Eye has 9 oz boxes, you need 3 cups)
• 1  cup ricotta cheese
• 1⁄2 cup scallion, green and whites
• 2  teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1⁄3 cup  dried  plain breadcrumbs
• 1  shallot, minced (small)
• 2  tablespoons  orange-flavored liqueur
• 1  tablespoon orange zest
• 3  tablespoons fresh sage, chopped fine (1 1/2 for the filling, 1 1/2 for garnish)
• 1  cup walnuts (fine chopped as a garnish)
• 1  teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1  teaspoon olive oil

• Bechemel Sauce

• 4  tablespoons butter
• 4  tablespoons flour
• 2  cups heavy cream (you can substitute milk if you want to cut fat)
• 1 1⁄2 cups milk
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1⁄8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Filling -- In a large saute pan, heat up the olive oil on medium heat and saute the onion, garlic and scallion, just a minute or two. Add the orange liquor, orange zest, bread crumbs, salt and pepper and fresh sage. Cook just a minute until well coated, transfer to a large bowl and set to the side.
2. Filling II -- Now in that same pan, add the butternut squash thawed right out of the box and just cook 1-2 minutes just to heat up and get any additional moisture out of the squash. Remove that and add to the bowl with the vegetables and bread crumbs. Add the ricotta in and mix well. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
3. Pasta -- Cook the shells according to directions, however I remove a bit sooner as they will continue cooking in the oven. Just shy of being done. Remove from the heat, drain, cool and then stuff with the squash mixture.
4. Bechamel Sauce -- In a small pot, add the butter and let melt on medium heat. Now add the flour to make a roux and cook just a minute to get the flour taste out. Add the cream and milk slowly and bring up to heat and let the sauce thicken. Add the seasoning and just let simmer till nice and creamy.
5. Stuff and Bake -- Put the dish together and bake your shells. Oven to 375 preheated. Then spray a 13x9" casserole dish and put approximately 1 cup of the sauce on the bottom. Then line up your shells on top of the sauce. Top your shells with the bechamel and bake approximately 25 minutes covered for the first 15 then remove foil so they brown up.
6. Let set just a few minutes 5 or so to set up, serve and top with any leftover sauce in the pan, sage and walnuts.